The godfather of the Hong Kong action spectacular, Tsui Hark adapts Chang Cheh's 1967 martial arts masterpiece The One-Armed Swordsman into a two-fisted yarn about violence and revenge. On (Zhao Wenzhou) is a nebbish orphan working at sword manufacturers. When he learns of first the vicious murder of a local holy man and later of the equally vicious slaying of his own father at the hands of barbarous band of bandits, he vows revenge. His early attempts at justice go horribly -- he loses his right arm in an ambush. Though On recovers after being nursed back to health by a recluse, he remains an outcast in the world of warriors. After dogged training, he invents a new fighting technique that proves to be quick and powerful enough to thwart the baddies -- especially the psychopathic bandit leader Lung (Xiong Xinxin). This film -- along with Wong Kar-wai's brilliant Ashes of Time -- is considered to be the high-water mark of the swordplay genre that gained popularity in the mid-'90s. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Review
This swordplay epic -- an update of the early martial arts classic The One-Armed Swordsman -- has style to burn, but is a bit too ambitious for its own good. It's main problem is an overloaded script; subplots concerning a romantic triangle and the way females view males overwhelm the revenge tale at the heart of the story instead of fleshing it out. As a result, The Blade's story never manages to establish a comfortable rhythm or coherent story flow because it constantly shifts gears and exchanges one plot thread or theme for another. This makes getting through the film a sometimes trying experience, but The Blade offers some rewards for the patient viewer. Man Cheuk Chiu handles his transformation from impetuous youth to single-minded killing machine with skill and Tsui Hark's willingness to experiment with the genre's rules (a female character as a narrator, avoiding wirework trickery in favor of brutally realistic fights) is quite pleasing. Best of all, The Blade is full of stunning swordplay set pieces, including a terrifying nocturnal fight in a large bamboo structure that is soon decimated by slashing swords and the scene where Ding On first tests out of his self-created "spinning blade" fighting technique. All in all, The Blade is a bit too experimental and unfocused for the casual action fan, but has enough solid action and intriguing stylistic flourishes to please the hardcore Hong Kong film fan. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
