Metacritic reviews

Memories of the Sword stands apart from other action films because Park wisely imagines violence as an elemental clash of dispositions.

Though rich in period detail, the movie grows tiresome with solemn, protracted soap-operatic encounters laden with glowering stares and tearful outbursts.

Despite great efforts to develop the three central characters, the confusing early sequences mean it is hard to feel empathy for any of them.

A visually arresting but vacuous, instantly forgettable period martial-arts romance.