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Released on the streaming platforms in China on Lunar New Year’s Eve, January 28th 2025, “Invincible Swordsman” is a product of Wong Jing and mainland director Luo Yi Wei. Adapted very loosely from the wuxia novel “The Smiling, Proud Wanderer” written by Louis Cha, or Jin Yong, this is basically a straight remake of Ching Siu Tung and Tsui Hark’s “Swordsman II” (1992) starring Brigitte Lin and Jet Li.

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The film kicks off with Ren Wo Xing (Yin Zi Wai) the leader of the Sun Moon Holy Cult practicing his “Cosmic Absorbing Power” on the Blackwoods Cliff. Out of nowhere, a self-castrated man with supreme kung fu powers, calling himself Dong Feng Bu Bai or Invincible East (Kitty Zhang Yu Qi) appears to challenge him. During their fierce battle, Dong easily defeats Ren, blinds him in one eye, declares himself as the new leader and imprisons...

Let's put aside the film analysis for now. What we have here is merely a local TV news segment challenging the label of “documentary”, just good enough in quality as bonus on DVDs to encourage the purchase of a particular edition (as seen with the Criterion Edition of “Boat People”), usually finding its way soon after onto YouTube under Creative Commons licenses. No significant work on structuring or editing has been undertaken; the result is a compilation of Dv Cam footage, often with intrusive background sounds, along with archival materials and photographs, all patched together. That said, is the film worth viewing? Certainly, if you have an interest in Ann Hui or the English era of Hong Kong.

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Produced by Peggy Chiao as part of a Taiwanese series titled “Personal Memoir of Hong Kong” which includes contributions from Stanley Kwan among others, the project...

For many around the world, there’s one name at the top of the action totem pole: Jackie Chan, and today marks his 70th birthday.

If you only know him as a goofy martial arts comedian from the Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon series, then consider this a wake up call. Because when Jackie did things His way on his home turf, he churned out some of the best action movies you’ll ever see.

Many would point to Drunken Master II as Jackie’s magnum opus. Fair enough, that is an all-timer, but for an example of his best modern day martial arts action, mixed in with some crime drama and his signature comedy, one of his absolute best outings is 1985’s Police Story.

In the 1970s, Jackie Chan soared to fame internationally once he was finally able to break out of the shadow of Bruce Lee. When Chan...

Considering that it took up to five directors to finish filming the first “Swordsman” after King Hu left the project, it was indeed a miracle that it turned out to be a success and a trend setter for the many new wave wuxia movies to follow. This visually arresting sequel, again produced by Tsui Hark but now directed by Ching Siu Tung, it’s a different beast all together. However, the theme of swordsmen retiring from the jianghu (martial world) and live a peaceful life is still the main focus. The film went on to win William Cheung Suk Ping and Yu Ka On the Best Costume and Makeup Design award at the 12th Hong Kong Film Awards in 1993.

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After roaming the jianghu for about a year, our swordsman hero Ling Hu Chung (played by Jet Li this time), and Yue Ling Shan, “Kiddo” (Michelle Reis...

A project by producer Tsui Hark and director King Hu and a story taken from the wuxia novel “Xiao Ao Jiang Hu” which roughly translates as “Smiling Proudly in the Martial World” written by Jin Yong (Louis Cha). Anyhow, be it creative differences or sickness, Hu left the production and it was the ensemble of Ching Siu Tung, Raymond Lee, Tsui Hark himself and Ann Hui (uncredited) working together as acting directors to finish the job. However, as seen in the opening credits, Hu was the only one listed as the original director nonetheless.

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Although “Swordsman” has a plot which involves masses of characters, basically it’s about a happy-go-lucky young swordsman Ling Hu Chung (Sam Hu) from the Wah Mountain Clan who gets caught up in the pursuit of retaining a Sacred Scroll, wanted by numerous clans including his own greedy Master, Yue Bu...

It’s oft-repeated movie wisdom that sequels are always inferior to their originals. Of course, people who watch enough films and take the time to think about them instead of reiterating the same trite axioms as everyone else know this to be far from accurate. Apropos of nothing, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn took to Twitter to put forward a litany of sequels he considers to outstrip their predecessors in quality.

Wrath of Kahn

Superman II

Batman Returns

Gremlins 2

Blade II

Legend of the Drunken Master

Desperado

Blade Runner 2049

Magnum Force

Final Destination 2

Captain America Winter Soldier

Swordsman II

Add others below.

Ps It’s an unarguable fact Alien & Aliens are equal.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 12, 2020

Opening Scene From Final Destination 2 Just Happened In Real Life 1 of 5

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He went on to state that Terminator 2...

James Gunn has reignited the debate over sequels that are better than their predecessors with his list of 27 second films that outdo the first. The “Guardians of the Galaxy” filmmaker published his list on social media, noting James Cameron’s “Aliens” is not included because “it’s an unarguable fact that ‘Alien’ and ‘Aliens’ are equal.” So which sequels are superior? Gunn declares Denis Villeneuve’s “Blade Runner 2049” is better than Ridley Scott’s landmark 1982 original, a controversial opinion that is sure to have its detractors. No-brainers on the list include Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” beating “Batman Begins” and “Empire Strikes Back” outdoing the original “Star Wars.”

Gunn’s list includes several superhero movies, including “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Superman II,” and Guillermo del Toro’s “Blade II.” As the director noted in a follow-up post, “You’ll notice a disproportionate amount of superhero movies on this list.

With everyone being stuck at home for the time being thanks to the ongoing global circumstances, people are watching and talking about movies more than ever before. This includes Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, who has taken to social media to list 27 sequels he thinks are better than the originals.

Sequels (2nd movie only) better than the originals&#8226 Toy Story 2&#8226&#160Godfather II&#8226 Spider-Man 2&#8226 Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans&#8226&#160Evil Dead 2&#8226&#160Shrek 2&#8226&#160The Dark Knight&#8226&#160Bride of Frankenstein&#8226&#160Hellboy II&#8226&#160Road Warrior&#8226 For a Few Dollars More&#8226&#160Paddington 2&#8226 X2&#8226&#160Empire Strikes Back&#8226&#160Wrath of Kahn&#8226&#160Superman II&#8226&#160Batman Returns&#8226&#160Gremlins 2&#8226&#160Blade II&#8226 Legend of the Drunken Master&#8226&#160Desperado&#8226&#160Blade Runner 2049&#8226&#160Magnum Force&#8226&#160Final Destination 2&#8226&#160Captain America Winter Soldier&#8226&#160Swordsman II&#8226&#160Add others below.&#8226&#160Ps It's an unarguable fact Alien & Aliens are equal.

The moviemaker has been participating with fans quite frequently on social media during self-isolation,...

A prominent commercial filmmaker in Hong Kong since the mid-80s, the career path and status of Johnnie To is distinctive from contemporaries such as John Woo, Tsui Hark, and Wong Kar-wai. Solely committed to his national cinema, he made a point of never venturing to Hollywood and even formed his own production company, Milkyway Image, in 1996. Only in the mid-2000s when films like Breaking News (2005) and Election (2006) premiered at the Cannes Film Festival was Johnnie To given auteur consideration by Western critics and audiences. Even then, it was only his crime and action genre work, characterized by their elegant style and directorial control, that found critical success and was seen as commercially viable for international markets. With over 50 features under his belt, Johnnie To has a massive oeuvre not bound to any single mode and while he is one of contemporary cinema’s greatest formalist filmmakers, his fluency in visual storytelling transcends genre.

Hong Kong Filmart

HONG KONG -- Mars and Venus fight for ascendancy as a warrior-princess must choose between personal romantic fulfillment and patriotic duty in An Empress and the Warriors. Thematically, the film sustains this dichotomy with atmospheric alternations between a saccharine fairy tale love plot and strapping martial arts duels and battle scenes.

As the first feature since 2000 to be helmed by renowned martial arts director Tony Ching Siu Tung (who choreographed The Curse of the Golden Flower and House of Flying Daggers), this could be the most anticipated Chinese period action blockbuster since The Warlords aside from Red Cliff. Although it doesn't thrill like Ching's seminal A Chinese Ghost Story or Swordsman II of the golden 1990s, it doesn't disappoint as a swashbuckling romance that puts its big-name cast to good hard work. The film already has sold to many Asian territories.

Set when China was still 10 warring states, the story has greatness thrust upon Princess Fei'er (Kelly Chen) when her father dies. She forces herself to develop martial prowess and lead her kingdom, Yan, first to repel invaders, then to squelch the mutiny of cousin Wu Ba (Guo Xiao-dong), who covets the throne. She is trained by Gen. Muyong Xuehu (Donnie Yen), who is both a Big Brother figure and secret admirer.

While fleeing an ambush set by Wu, Fei'er is rescued and nursed to health by forest dweller Duan Lanquan (Leon Lai). She falls for her hippie healer and becomes skeptical of her kingdom's warlike culture and her own royal destiny. Notwithstanding a flirtation with bandages and a hot air balloon ride over spectacular landscapes, the romance is like the multigrain porridge and organic yams that Lanquan prepares -- wholesome but bland.

Chen, better known as a singer and pretty face in escapist romances, takes up the gauntlet to play an Amazonian heroine. She achieves a breakthrough in image, but screen partners Yen and Lai remain typecast.

The exquisitely wrought armor forms an integral part of overall art direction in creating a sense of Arthurian majesty. The outfits' ungainly weight also means high-wire pyrotechnics are ruled out in favor of earth-bound, puissant clashing of swords. Nothing happens at breakneck speed, but there are no lulls in the succession of fight scenes.

As the spotlight is on the three leads, the best martial arts choreography is reserved for one-on-one battles set against ravishing natural backdrops, such as a floating log on the river or Lanquan's fight with some ninja-like assassins in his tree house in the film's most elaborately designed set piece.

Although the film sports fashionable anti-war jargon, it does not skimp on the body count. Battle scenes and two chases through the woods are graphic but skillfully lensed by Zhang Yimou regular Zhao Xiaoding.

AN EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS

Polybona Film Distribution and Big Pictures present an United Filmmakers Organization production sales agent: Golden Network Asia, Mei Ah Entertainment (Asia)

Credits:

Director: Tony Ching Siu Tung

Screenwriter: James Yuen

Producers: Yu Dong, Claudie Chung

Executive producers: Yu Dong, Eric Tsang, Li Kuo-hsing

Director of photography: Zhao Xiaoding

Production designer: Yee Chung Man

Music: Mark Lui

Costume designer: Dora Ng

Editor: Tracy Adams

Cast:

Yan Fei'er: Kelly Chen

Muyong Xuehu: Donnie Yen

Duan Lanquan: Leon Lai

Wu Ba: Guo Xiaodong

Running time -- 95 minutes

No MPAA rating...