Swordsman II

many of the previous comments have cited this film as one the best in the martial arts genre. i think there's a little more to it. this film articulates one of the central philosophical questions of the Chinese tradition: withdrawal from the world vs. facing the world. it is a theme featured in all of china's great philosophers, Lao-Tze, Zhuang-Tze, Confucious, and as well as its great poets and artists. it is also, arguably, the central question of Chinese Buddhism.

recall that the film premises on the withdrawal of Jet Li's character and his clan from the world of martial arts (the uniquely Chinese, "Jiang-Hu"). they were tired of the constant battles and blood-shed. "Ox-back Mountain" was, for them, the idyllic place to escape the bitterness of the world. the events of the movie--Jet Li's involvement with Ying Ying, the rescue of Ren Woxing, the appearance of Dong Fang Bu Bai, the brutal slaughter of the Hua Mountain clan--all serve to problem's the possibility of exiting the world.

Linghu Chong's (Jet Li's) conversation with Ren Woxing captures this conflict in these immortal words (my translation): "you (Linghu Chong) know so little about the world. when there is people, there is hatred and resentment, and when there is hatred and resentment, there is Jiang Hu (the world)." this is a pessimistic view of the world, but one that rightly argues for the importance of resentment in the order of the world. moreover, unlike most films that fall into this trap, the Swordsman II does not posit love as a force of reconstitution and re-ordering; love only complicates things...

For sheer entertainment value, it's hard to beat this film. If you're not concerned about intellectual stimulation, you'll have a great time. The plot is completely confusing, but it helps if you've seen "The Swordsman", the first movie in this sequence.

Don't worry; you won't be paying too much attention to the plot, because if you do you'll get a headache. In a capsule, various martial arts clans vie for possession of a scroll which describes how to obtain secret powers. This is a great excuse to hang together a bunch of amazing martial arts sequences, silly humor, and drunken singing -- and you'll probably sing right along. In fact, you'll see where "The Matrix" got a lot of its inspiration when you watch this film. (The Wachowski brothers worship Jet Li.)

As in "The Swordsman", I appreciated the fact that there are a number of strong female roles in this film. Hollywood doesn't allow many women action heroes, and this film shows how women can knock your socks off, if given the chance, in the fighting sequences.

Assume movie essence absorbing stance!

You know it's going to be a wild ride when bodies are being chopped in half five seconds into the film. The manic pace of this film never lets up, the assault of flashing swords, flying bodies, snakes, needles, throwing stars, whips, needles and kitchen sinks (all right, not really, but I think you get my point) is almost too much to absorb all in one sitting. But what really makes the film is the striking performance by Brigitte Lin as the villain. She's fast becoming my favourite HK actress, and her wicked performance here is a big reason why. Her character is so captivating that the next "Swordsman" film was apparently centered around her character. The only letdown is that for the bulk of the film, she's dubbed (with a male voice), but since that's integral to the plot, I'll let it slide. For fans of HK fantasy/action films, this is very much worth your while.

This is no doubt the best wuxia film of the 90's. The costume, fight scenes and compelling cast all add up to an excellent and engrossing film. The story revolves around swordsman Ling Wu Chung (Jet Li) who on his way to retreat from the martial arts world, having to rescue a kidnapped leader of the Sun Moon Sect and confronting the powerful Asia, a person who have master an invincible form of martial arts, but at a terrible price. Yes, the plot is complex but is far more interesting than the simple and cliche "you kill my master, I want revenge" plot we get from some other martial arts films. The brillant colours and thrilling action scenes are also well-made and serves to grab and hold the attention of the audience until the very end of the film. All in all, a superb film. Those who thought "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was the best martial arts will have to see this film.

Ling Wu Chung (Jet Li) is a great young swordsman with a big problem: the question on which side he shall fight means only choosing the lesser of two evils. On one hand, there is master Wu (Shi-Kwan Yen) who became mad during his imprisonment. Ling frees him from the prison, but does not wish to support Wu's cruel and merciless vengeance afterwards. On the other hand, there is Asia (Brigitte Lin), a wicked, mysterious woman of great beauty who hides many secrets from Ling and cannot be trusted. The movie has many wild, over the top action scenes from the director of "Chinese Ghost Story", but it was impossible to find a happy ending for it. Along with the sad music, visual beauty and spectacular effects, without a doubt a classic of its genre in the 1990s. My only little grudge is that the characters in the first Swordsman movie were more sympathetic than here in the sequel.