FAQ

Whether it was because the company though people would expect something else or just because of the usual concerns about Western viewing habits is uncertain, but this movie from 2011 was significantly tightened by removing almost 17 minutes of footage. Most of the cuts were made in the first half of the movie and mostly concern plot scenes. The introduction into the story, which originally was rather slow, was sped up this way. It is also not very surprising that some of the village inhabitants' songs were removed. However, some violence was removed as well, most notably when Xu talks about other killers and their massacre. Additionally, Jimmy Wang Yu kicks Donnie Yen more often during the finale. It cannot be said for sure whether this had a censoring background or whether these violent scenes were just deemed unnecessary as well resp. the original cutter's work was not enough. Several small cuts at various times lead to the latter conclusion, but it cannot be said for certain.

The detective's suspicions are initially aroused when he discovers the identity of the dead criminals, who were famous martial artists, and that one of them was killed by a precise blow to a nerve cluster. Then, on examination of the crime scene, he discovers clues that a very sophisticated and advanced kung fu fight occurred. Then, through deduction, he realizes that only a famous crime boss, who disappeared years ago, could have done it.