Rating: ***
Director: Samo Hung
Cast: Yeung Fan, Ti Lung, Cynthia Khan,
Samo Hung, Ngai Sing, Rosamund Kwan
A beautiful big budget period piece with lots of great swordplay and kung fu going on. Government official Ti Lung, his perky assistant Nine Catties (Cynthia Khan), and a despondant swordsman (Yeung Fan), go up against a group of corrupt and greedy government officials. A great looking film, with an exceptionally intense performance by Ti Lung. Also, it's a treat to see Cynthia Khan playing a non-police officer role, even though she gets blown up at the end of the film. The fighting is well executed, but many of the shots are so severely undercranked that they just look silly, which is a real shame. It also features a couple of "oh my god" shots featuring a horse jumping off of a cliff into a river and another horse running head-on into an adobe wall. Ouch!