Beautifully entertaining

Rating: 8/10 (5 February 2007)

I wasn't sure what to expect of a Chinese marital arts movie, but this was truly superb. The choreography was outstanding, the fight scenes were handled with grace, elegance and breathtaking stunts. It was an equals opportunity movie, there are women fighting as well. I had the idea that marital arts movies would be bloody-thirsty and probably gory, but not at all.
I don't know how accurate the story was historically, but I thought the film gave a fascinating insight into ancient Chinese culture, a civilisation that existed a thousand years ago.
A few of the actors were familiar, Jet Li, Maggie Chung and Ziyi Zhang. The actor who played the Warlord was, for me, one of the highlights of the film. Excellent production values and a very unusual plot-line (full of twists and turns) make this movie entertaining for all.