This movie with many names is an action-adventure that is a prequel spin-off of the TV series Legend of Fei, that is based on a novel by Priest. While the series is about a heroine called Fei, the movie details an adventure that her mother Jinrong experienced. The movie has different actors, plot, and feel. It is so different that it is pointless to compare to the series.
Jinrong lives with her father in a fortress together with many other heroes, or bandits, depending on point of view. She is the best warrior of her generation in the fortress, and believes that she is unbeatable. When the fortress is threatened by an enemy army, her father sends her to deliver a letter to ask for aid from their ally, general Yitang. Away from home, it quickly turns out that Jinrong is not as unbeatable as she thought.
The lighting and colours are faint and pale. The sky is cloudy, it is often snowing or raining, and the ground is muddy, or covered by snow. Every outdoor scene looks cold and wet, together with the melancholic guitar music creating a depressing mood.
The movie is only around 90 minutes long, and the pacing is fast sometimes. It was difficult to understand who the different characters and factions are. I actually had to look some things up in a wiki to understand their relationships. I wouldn't mind if it had been longer, with some scenes dragged out a bit, and more everyday life added in, to define the characters more.
The most difficult person to understand was general Yitang. The first time Jinrong meets him, he looks middle-aged, but the second time they meet, he looks younger and is wearing armour. It is also dark, so it was difficult to recognize him.
The price for best character design goes to the young villain Shen Tianshu. With his sensitive eyes, long hair combed over half of his face, and the most interesting fighting style, he might have the most sex appeal of the male characters.
Apart from the simple plot, the most interesting interactions are between Jinrong and the warriors that she encounters randomly on her journey.
Jinrong shows a lot of emotion, mostly anger or despair. Because of the weather, I was always worried about her freezing. She has strong opinions and is very stubborn. It is a bit annoying that she would always choose violence as the solution in every situation, but I guess that is an acceptable way to increase the number of battles.
There are many stylish scuffles between various parties, but no big, flamboyant duel. Still, the interactions between Jinrong and the villain Shen Tianshu has some interesting details.
