A storytelling worth many viewings and interpretations

Rating: 10/10 (3 January 2001)

I went because some local review ran something like, "Fast kickin', high jumpin', and good actin'!"
Certainly all of that was true, but there was also a lyricism and magic about this film that was totally unexpected and totally overwhelming. It's James Bond and Raiders of the Lost Ark woven into a mythical and rich story to be told in beautiful images. The story itself obviously left lots of room for personal interpretation (the person I saw it with disagreed on some major points), and all of that is to say nothing of the value of the resonances in other myths and, I'm sure, other Chinese literature.
A "must see again and again", I can wholeheartedly recommend this film. I rank it up there with the most truly invigorating stories I've ever heard.

P.S. I'd also bet it was made on less than $10 MM. Way to go Hong Kong Cinema for using technology and a storyteller's art to build something cool at a reasonable price.