A scene from SAMURAI FURY. Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment
The year is 1461 (for the movie, SAMURAI FURY, not us, though many think we’re regressing globally). Japan is in a state of chaos. The country is ravaged by plague, with 82,000 deaths, and counting; the peasants who haven’t succumbed are starving and besieged by different groups of debt collectors, using the most despicable tactics; a slew of ronin (samurai with no master to serve) are roaming the country without purpose; the Shogun ain’t doin’ diddly-squat to help anyone or stem the violence from the monks and warlords. In the midst of this, one ronin, Hasuda Hyoe (Ôizumi Yô) emerges as a good guy, who might just make a difference. That may require butting heads with his longtime friend Honekawa Doken (Shin’ichi Tsutsumi), who is in charge of forces defending the ruling class.
Hyoe picks up a spirited apprentice he calls “Frog” (Yuya Eendo) among the cringing masses and sends him off to an old sensei for a year of training. Then he gradually assembles a rag-tag army of other ronin and willing villagers to storm the capital in Kyoto. Their main goal is to destroy all the loan papers the monks holding them have been wielding to brutalize debtors and their families during this time of extreme hardship. His plans are intricate, building slowly to what will, ideally, become the Big Day.
Standard stuff, so far, as this sort of theme is quite common in East Asian martial arts and action period fare. Since it’s set in an era before guns, swords, spears, staffs and arrows are the non-anatomical weapons of the day, with occasional explosions. That calls for top-notch stunt choreography, and the film delivers superbly on that front, with relatively little wire work, thereby maximizing its grittiness.
Genre fans have seen the de rigeur training sequences in the majority of these films. Frog’s regimen for mastering the pole (the weapon, not the stripper support) is unique, and much more interesting than most, both visually and in content. The climactic battle sequences are huge in scale, bloody in execution and fascinatingly intricate. Kudos to writer/director Yu Irie for elevating the level of writing and action above the norm, and for crafting so many elaborate sets for the long course of events. Frog’s character arc is particularly satisfying, as well as the frenemy situation that unfolds between Hyoe and Doken.
The 135-minute running time is just fine for the material presented. It seemed shorter, which is among the highest compliments I ever give.
SAMURAI FURY, in Japanese with English subtitles, is available from WellGo USA in digital format beginning Oct. 7, and in 4K and Blu-ray formats starting Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
As we reach the end of the big Summer cinema season of 2025, feature animation fans have had a variety of entries to savor. Though the biggest hits have been the “live action” adaptations of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON and LILO & STITCH, mind you, the filmmakers utilized realistic computer techniques to render the latter’s title co-star and the winged beasties of the former, there have been a few fully “created from pencil and computer” flicks. Near the start of the year, we saw a hit family film based on the DOG MAN book series, while in the last few weeks, we’ve been treated to another visit from the SMURFS and those BAD GUYS. Perhaps the greatest work may be an extension of a long-running live-action series with PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS. One segment of it was set in feudal Japan. Now, if that piqued your interest in more furious martial arts action, then that indie powerhouse A24 has just the movie for you. They’re releasing to theatres the dubbed-into-English box-office blockbuster (the biggest one in China ever) sequel NE ZHA II.
And it hits the ground running, and leaping, and punching. From that previous film, we see that the demon-like Ne Zha and angelic Ao Bing are without bodies. Luckily, Master Taiyi Zhenren is overseeing the villagers of Chentang Pass, who are mixing up a gelatinous goo that will form their new physical body “hosts”. Unfortunately, Bing’s forming body is destroyed while defending the town from an attack by three of the Dragon Kings. But his spirit is sent into the body of Zha. His parents, Lady Yin and Li Jing, send him with Taiyi aboard his flying pig on a quest to regain his immortality and split up the personalities. But they’ll have to face a series of trials and tests set up by Wuliang of the heavenly Chan set in order to acquire the needed magic potion for Bing. Ah. but things get complicated as his nefarious father, Ao Guang, actually the Dragon King of the East Sea, is preparing an attack, leading an army of undersea hybrids. Several decptions and double-crosses culminate in a battle for the planet with an advancing heavenly army and a fiery cauldron that creates elixers to confront the dragon forces and the increasingly more powerful Ne Zha.
To say that the film is visually stunning doesn’t really describe the amazing artistry that went into this. It’s told in now-traditional computer animation with incredible attention to detail along with some glorious effects (fire, oceans, etc.), and superb character design, especially the snake-like sea dragons. Unfortunately, that’s most of what stayed with me after the very lengthy 143-minute runtime. The story seems to be zipping in several directions all at once, making it jumbled and confusing. The only “big name” voice actor in this English “dub” is the always compelling Michelle Yeoh as the ethereal beauty Lady Yin. The other vocal talent often sounds as though they’re playing “catch up” with the exaggerated mouth movements. It’s especially the case with the motor-mouthed Taiyi (often a gluttenous bufoon) and the ill-tempered at times Ne Zha, who resembles so many anime tots. What really surprised me was the barrage of bodily fluid and functions gags (literally) that really try to elicit strained laughter or “gross-ou” groans. I did enjoy one comedy sequence in which Yin and Jing try to come up with the “perfect image” of Ne, going from muscle-bound behemoth to cuddily cute ragmuffin. This film is an interesting look at an action-adventure cartoon tale (well, the battle with the marmot tribe is pretty good) that may fascinate animation aficionados, but the average filmgoer may be baffled and a little dumfounded (maybe “brain-numb”) by the “eye candy” on display in NE ZHA II.
And with the first official post-holiday “Summer cinema” weekend at the multiplex, here comes the return of another beloved movie franchise. Though it doesn’t boast the longest wait between installments, its storied history is one that the IMF might have a tough time sorting through. It’s hard to believe that the initial was over forty years ago. That flick and its two sequels became cable TV staples in the 1980s. Then, a reboot was attempted with one of the stars in 1994 with a “gender switch” for the title lead. Didn’t work, but that didn’t stop a complete remake/reboot 15 years ago, which was a modest hit. Now, after a popular “spin-off” streaming TV, here’s a “re-do” that combines and unites the original trilogy and that 2010 version. With those mixed characters and legacies, it’s no wonder that this one is labeled KARATE KID: LEGENDS.
This new flick begins with footage from 1987 as the late Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) relates a bit of family history. It seems an ancestor took a “slow boat to China” many years ago, where he exchanged martial arts techniques with the Han family (or is it a dynasty). Flash forward to modern-day Beijing, where a member of that lineage, Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), runs a popular wuguan (a kung fu school). Well, it’s not popular with his niece, Dr. Fong (Ming-Na Wen), who abhors fighting after losing her eldest son, Bo, to a vengeful rival after a big match. Unfortunately his kid brother Li (Ben Wang) studies there while hiding from Mom. But that will end as she is headed to the states, where she’ll join the staff of a NYC hospital. Just after relocating, Li befriends a bubbly young woman named Mia (Sadie Stanley) will helps her father Vic (Joshua Jackson) run his Victory Pizza eatery. Things get complicated when Li learns that Vic owes some dough (get it) to a cruel local loan shark, who happens to run the MMA school, Demolition Dojo, whose “star student’ is the vicious Conor (Aramis Knight), the jealous ex of Mia. When some of the loan shark goons try to rough up Vic, Li thwarts them with his skills. Vic insists that Li help him train to get back in the ring to earn a cash jackpot that’ll get him out of debt. But when an illegal blow sends Vic to the hospital, Li decides that he must enter the city-wide fighting competition known as the “Five Boroughs”. Now, he’ll need a coach. After explaining his problem over the phone to Mr. Han, the master unexpectedly shows up at the Fong home. There’s less than two weeks to train, so Han hops on another jet, this time to the west coast to recruit the former student of his old pal Miyagi, Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio). But with the start of the tourney quickly approaching, can Li take down Conor, even with the coaching of these two seasoned fighting masters?
In talking up the cast, I suppose we should begin with the new “double K” (and yes, he’s also “special”) himself. Wang as the reluctant young warrior. He effectively balances a snarky sense of humor with a beguiling sweetness, which had me thinking of the actors who donned the Spidey suit (actually, one character refers to Li as the “Asian Peter Parker”). He’s a good kid, despite his bouts fighting a painful loss, and like Parker, he blames himself. But we’re rooting for him, especially in his romantic pursuit of the tough, though vulnerable, “street smart” Stanley, as Ms. Mia. Yes, they’re both charming, but the master of that is the always entrancing Mr. Chan as Mr. Han. Sure, he’s often a terse taskmaster, but his quieter scenes with Wang convey a great warmth as a most comforting coach and mentor. Plus Chan has great comic rapport with Macchio as the reticent “side man”, giving Wang the wisdom of his own teenage struggles. As for the actual “parental figures”, Jackson also piles on his own brand of “Bronx bro” charm as the pizza man papa who hopes he has one more title bout in him. Then there’s that ethereal beauty, Ms. Wen as Li’s loving, but firm mother, who barely contains her concerns over losing another child to the martial art “battlezone.”, It’s a shame this terrific talent (maybe the fiercest “Agent of SHIELD”) isn’t given more to do. Of course, an action movie needs a compelling villain. Here, Knight is a swaggering, sneering hellion who encompasses the dark side of competitive combat. And happily a bit of comic relief is provided by the very funny Wyatt Oleff as Li’s dweeby tutor Alan.
In his feature film directing debut, Jonathan Enwistel keeps the pace flowing smoothly through its 94 minutes (huzzah for brevity) while providing some effective visual “razzle dazzle”. Big kudos to him for using several bits of classic 2D-style animation for the locale “bookmarks” ( the boroughs, round numbers, and “contact points”), and especially for the early illustration of the Myagi family history. Now, I know that “training montages” are a staple of sports-themed stories, so we get plenty of them, not only with Han and Daniel working with Li, but also with Li using kitchen utensils to get Vic in shape, so I expected them. Luckily, Enwistel keeps its length fairly “pared down” with a minimal mix of “slow-mo” and pop anthems. These set pieces harken back to the original concept, which is tweaked here (instead of NYC to LA, we get China to NYC), but the tropes of picking one’s self up to continue the fight are solidly in effect. Yes, there are few surprises here, other than the fun of pairing Chan with Macchio, so series fans will get a big steaming bowl of cinematic “comfort food”, a warm movie cookie (maybe a “fortune” inside). Well, at least Montreal doubles nicely for the Big Apple, and as “re-imaginings” of 80s classics, there’s still a lot of punches and kicks to be had with KARATE KID: LEGENDS.
3 Out of 4
KARATE KID: LEGENDS is now playing in theatres everywhere
A scene from the Chinese action movie HUNT THE WICKED. Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment
HUNT THE WICKED is a Chinese action flick in a contemporary crime setting that packs considerable punch in its considerable amount of punches, knifings, shootings and ‘splosions. The premise is rather standard, with more complications and twists than usual in the plot.
Miao Xie stars as Huang, a super-tough supercop pitted against huge drug manufacturing and importing ring that has long defied the efforts of the authorities. That’s partly due to the corruption among certain cops and politicians obscuring their activities and derailing most of the legit efforts. The film opens with Huang making the biggest bust to date of the meth-like pills the gang is making called Spider. It can be fatal for those who use it, and even more so for those who get hooked. In the course of Huang’s pursuit of the syndicate’s upper echelons, he must fend off major efforts by the cartel to recover their confiscated product from the secret place Huang stored it. Those efforts are either helped or hindered by a rogue ex-cop (Andy On), creating quite a bit of suspense about who should trust whom, since the latter had become known to the authorities as a major criminal.
The big draw here lies in the fight sequences, ranging from gritty one-on-ones, to heavily-populated clashes yielding high body counts. Their intensity is partly due to the fact that Miao Xie has won a number of Wushu tournaments, and On studied multiple disciplines, ranging from time at a Shaolin temple to working with Jackie Chan’s crew of trainers. The real starring credit arguably is to be shared between director Suiqiang Huo and stunt coordinator Long Zhao, with a high-five to Jun Li’s cinematography. I’d also give a nod to the location scout(s) for finding several excellent settings for the proceedings to unfold.
Despite what may strike one as protracted story arcs – including our knowing who the main villains are too long before our hero gets there – the lead performances and scale of action make this one worth watching.
HUNT THE WICKED, in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles, debuts on digital platforms from WellGoUSA on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
A scene from STRIKING RESCUE. Courtesy of WellGo USA
Tony Jaa is essentially the Bruce Lee of Thailand. He’s a gifted martial artist with black belts in multiple disciplines. He does his own stunts without CGI or wires. His films have reliably delivered plenty of high-octane action with varying degrees of story significance. Jaa’s resting face seems to be one of anger, which serves him well in this hard-hitting revenge story, STRIKING RESCUE.
We see Jaa’s wife and daughter being murdered during the opening credits. The whole film consists of working his way up the criminal echelons to kill whoever did them in. It’s a classic formula that never gets old in the right hands, whether being executed by Jason Statham, Scott Adkins, Jet Li or any other martial artist with a SAG card (or its equivalent in the dozens of other countries pumping these flicks out). Along the way, he winds up protecting the daughter of a rich guy who just might be one of those responsible for his tragic loss.
Some of Jaa’s vehicles require little or no emotional range beyond justified anger about the form of evil du jour. Offhand, I can’t recall any romances, though his love for domesticated elephants is quite profound in the pair of PROTECTOR movies which, along with three ONG BAK films, propelled him to international acclaim. A long sequence in THE PROTECTOR, in which Jaa fights his way up a wide circular, multi-story stairway ranks among the most stunning in the genre. The skill required to choreograph and execute that sequence that took several months to film made me a fan. STRIKING RESCUE features more plot complexity and character delineation than usual without shorting us on his unique style of ass-kicking. Jaa’s Muay Thai uses more knee and elbow strikes than other disciplines. It ain’t pretty but it works real good.
All the types needed for one of these offerings are well-represented, including the relatively recent trend of having a hot, skilled psycho-bitch among the male-dominated enemy ranks. This one wields two hatchets, providing another bit of novelty. Jaa’s fans will be pleased, and newbies are likely to join them. That’s about all you need to know, folks.
STRIKING RESCUE, in Mandarin Chinese, Thai and some English, with English subtitles, is available for digital streaming from WellGo USA starting Tuesday, Apr. 15 and on Blu-ray on May, 13, 2025.
A scene from 100 YARDS. Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment
For many of us, the first thought the title 100 YARDS evokes is of a football field. But this is a period Chinese martial arts drama that’s long on action and short on plot coherence. An old wushu master dies and designates his top student (Andy On) as his successor, rather than his son (Jacky Hueng). Both are top-notch fighters, but the old boy thinks the future of their discipline is bleak in the early 20th century, and that his scion should embrace the region’s burgeoning international economy by becoming a banker. Jacky don’t like that none.
The tedious story involves periodic flareups between the two guys, plus threads involving a gang of slingshot-wielding dock workers, a council of martial arts elders, a handful of foreigners and probably others I’m forgetting. It covers China at a time of its opening up to economic and social influences from abroad, sexism, racism and fading traditions.
But it doesn’t cover any of them well. That’s primarily because there’s no emotional hook to be found. This is a genre that reliably plies the waters of good underdogs overcoming evil despite long odds. But this script never makes that distinction even remotely clear. Viewers won’t know who to root for, and may windup switching allegiances a few times as the story unfolds. The solution might be to just enjoy the first-rate sets and costumes, while waiting for the next fight.
The action is the only big asset here. Many sequences are superbly choreographed – several on a large scale. The gritty clashes are fast-paced without wire work, exotic weapons or prominent CGI enhancers. Those scenes are satisfyingly energetic, piling up a hefty body count without showing much blood and gore. The clashes are reminiscent of Hong Kong chopsocky flicks of the 1970s, when budget limitations generally kept the physical bits more within human capabilities for most of the productions.
One could derive the perks of this one by fast-forwarding through the talky parts, allowing the fine action portion to shine. Since the dialog won’t steer your loyalties, anyway, why not just cherry-pick the goodies?
100 YARDS, in Mandarin with English subtitles, is available on digital formats from WellGo USA starting Tuesday, Feb. 18.
I really got a kick out of the Blaxploitation films of the 1970s when they were new, and just as much recently when I found many of them streaming at one place or another. Pam Grier was a tough, smart and sexy sensation in a bunch of action movies. Same for Tamara Dobson – notably in a couple of outings as Cleopatra Jones. JADE tries to ply those waters in a 2020s setting, with a mixed bag of results. The title has been used several times in a variety of films unrelated to this 2025 release.
The eponymous character is played by diminutive British actress Shaina West, who appears as a Pam Grier Mini-me with an even bigger Afro. She’s a good person caught up in the underworld after emigrating to the US. Though trying to get out of that life after a tragic loss, she gets sucked back in. Ain’t that always the way it goes? Some henchman sticks her with a hard drive that all the good and bad guys want, with uncertainty as to who she can trust among them.
The one she absolutely should avoid most is a crime boss named Tork, played by the bizarre creature currently residing in Mickey Rourke’s body. Jade gets bounced around from one bad situation to another at a breakneck pace, leading to a generous serving of well-designed fight sequences, along with some gruesome bits of torture to several unfortunate souls.
Unlike that earlier generation of female-featuring flicks, this one leaves out the sexy and fashionista bits, and fronts a score that is less in-your-face. But Ms. West has done stunt work before and it shows to advantage here. At least I think it does. Most of the action occurs at night and in dark buildings, partially obscuring the efforts of the combatants. The highlight is the inevitable climactic fight that rivals Uma Thurman’s celebrated wipe-out of The 88 in KILL BILL: PART ONE. (Coincidentally, that’s the number of minutes director James Bradford needed to deliver this product in a lean, mean package.)
Rourke’s symbiote shows his menace without exerting much energy. Skilled martial artist/actor Mark Dacascos (head of the gang in the final fight for JOHN WICK 3, and star of many direct-to-video action flicks) was barely utilized. So those drawn by seeing his name the ads shouldn’t expect much of his presence. This one’s for popcorn night when the cerebrum needs a break.
JADE is available in digital formats from WellGo USA starting Tuesday, Feb. 18.
A scene from the Vietnamese action drama FOGGY MOUNTAIN. Courtesy of Well Go USA
Regular readers will know I’ve praised a slew of East Asian martial arts and action flicks in the past few years. South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, among others have followed the path of the prolific Hong Kong studios, often providing splashier fight and stunt sequences, whether the setting is historical or contemporary. Revenge is the most common classic driver of these plots, so when I saw this arrival from Vietnam, I was hoping for more of the same from FOGGY MOUNTAIN (originally DIN MU SUONG). That’s not what I got, but it’s not all bad news.
Phi (Peter Pham) is a superb MMA fighter, reluctantly competing in underground matches to raise money, hoping to afford a cure for his wife’s blindness. Ba Rau (Kim Long Thach) is the local crime boss who tries to force him to keep fighting as one of his own guys. Phi refuses. Ba Rau and his thugs go to Phi’s home, and find his wife there alone. When Phi arrives, she’s hanging from the ceiling. That starts the revenge journey.
Ba Rau moved his operation from the city to the eponymous rural community. He’s also shifted from staging fights to abducting and trafficking children, intimidating the local leaders to comply, rather than suffer a bloodbath. Phi tracks them down and starts saving captured kids, eliminating any henchmen in his path. That places most of the action in woods and landscapes much lovelier than the rundown dwellings and despicable actions taking place there. The toughest of the enforcers is Vong Akork (Simon Kook), who looks like what Thai superstar Tony Jaa would if he bulked up on steroids, stopping about 2/3 of the way to the legendary Bolo Yeung’s muscle mass.
Everyone already knows most of where the story must take the players, so the measure of quality lies in how they get there. Phi spends a lot of time leading the rescued kids’ escape through the woods and mountains while being pursued by a legion of machete-wielding goons. A few of those minions also have guns to stack the odds even more heavily against our protagonists. On the plus side, there are a couple of surprises in the screenplay, and what they show of the fights is properly gritty and human-scale without wire work or other gimmicks. Kim Long Thach milks his smug, vicious villain role for all it’s worth, especially with an over-the-top evil laugh at the damage he inflicts at will. Pham, a real martial artist as well as actor, follows the tradition of humble heroes pushed too far by the baddies and looks perfectly credible in combat.
The downside is that we’re short-changed on the accustomed dosage of violent stuff. Several fights are cut short, leaving out the (usually gratifying) endings we seek. At only 86 minutes, the two directors (Phan Ahn, Ken Din) might have trimmed some of the gore for international distribution, making this version shorter and more tamely rate-able than many others. I’d be interested in seeing a director’s cut if one is ever released to confirm the existence of action footage we missed.
It’s still a reasonably worthy diversion, but gear down your expectations for adrenaline rushes, since this is quieter and less bloody than many of its competitors.
FOGGY MOUNTAIN, in Vietnamese with English subtitles, debuts streaming exclusively on Hi-YAH! and in digital format from Well Go USA and other platforms, on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
A scene from the Chinese action flick WOLF PACK. Courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment
WOLF PACK is a fast-paced, subtitled action flick from China that’s well worth having to read the dialog – partly because there isn’t too much of it in proportion to the shooting and fighting time. An elite mercenary unit of ex-soldiers (hence, the title) opens with rescuing a young humanitarian doctor (Aarif Rahman) kidnapped by terrorists. The main plot involves the bad guys’ effort to destroy an oil pipeline that’s vital to China’s needs, both foreign and domestic.
The leader (Jin Zhang) is a hard-nosed veteran of many battles. Luxia Jiang co-stars as the attractive female member of the team that’s become almost mandatory in recent action flicks from all countries who crank them out. Diego Dati plays the typically brilliant, ruthless head honcho of the terrorists. All three mentioned in this paragraph fill their roles in excellent style.
Writer/director Michael Chiang delivers a taut package of action and suspense that seems shorter than its 105 minutes. That’s always a plus in my book. The last act includes a literal and figurative ticking bomb scenario with time running short for our heroes to save the day. Action sequences are mostly gun battles, except for a few well-staged hand-to-hand fights. No expense was spared on special effects and sets, adding a layer of complexity to the crisis. No romantic subplots or nudity. The violence is large-scale and frequent but not particularly graphic.
If there’s a nit to pick, it’s the humanitarian doctor’s character arc. He’s a scrawny pacifist who initially hates the mercs that saved him and all they represent – rentable soldiers for any price, regardless of principle. But finding himself enmeshed with them in extreme peril rapidly turns him into a super trooper, joining their ranks and somehow possessing weaponry and fighting skills, with absolutely no explanation of how he could have gone full Rambo so quickly. Fortunately, the plot moves quickly enough to keep you from dwelling on that question. It also includes a couple of surprising elements that help separate it from others in the genre. Not special, but certainly worth a look to fill your adrenaline needs without overtaxing the cerebral.
WOLF PACK, in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles, is available on Blu-Ray DVD starting Tuesday, Jan. 23.
Miao Xie as Cheng in EYE FOR AN EYE: BLIND SWORDSMAN (MU ZHONG WU REN). Courtesy of WellGoUSA
Chinese martial arts films have a long tradition of including quite an array of masterful fighters with significant disabilities. Many of them feature a hero who is blind, deaf, missing an arm, etc. yet still able to defeat whatever evil being or force must be eliminated for the common good. That usually yields a bunch of intricately choreographed battles – one-on-ones with the worst, often preceded by dispatching hordes of underlings and anonymous minions.
EYE FOR AN EYE: BLIND SWORDSMAN (MU ZHONG WU REN) follows the pattern in a relatively low-key production set in the distant (pre-firearms) past. Cheng (Miao Xie) has the unlikely job of itinerant bounty hunter for the government. He’s very good at it, of course, despite his lack of sight. The film opens in a gambling den. We soon learn he’s been hunting the region’s bad guys down for a decade. Remaining skills are evident when he doesn’t need vision to tell that they’re cheating, leading to action that establishes his credentials for both integrity and mad skills. Cheng is quiet, humble and all business.
Unfortunately, he stops for a drink at what will become the sight of a massacre by an evil warlord, including the rape of a lovely woman (Wieman Gao) who was about to be married. When the local authorities, obviously feeling the perps are too powerful for them to handle, decline, Cheng takes up her cause of seeking justice. That comprises the rest of the running time which includes a couple of important non-combat roles for women in the plot. As the genre goes, this one plays out more sedately than many, even venturing into the CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON realm of lyricism in a few picturesque scenes. The final battle will remind fans of the sequence in KILL BILL: VOL. 1 between The Bride (Uma Thurman) and O Ren Rishii (Lucy Liu).
Those seeking a sword-fest of splatter will find this to be on the tame side. Writer/director Bingjia Yang pulls a lot of punches, cutting away early in scenes of mass sword fights, returning only to show the number of prone henchmen killed or wounded while our eyes were diverted to something else. The fights he displays are diverse and well-choreographed, relatively free of wire work and other special effects that turn fiction into fantasy. One exception is a cloaked baddie with almost supernatural agility and speed. Cool scenes with him in motion.
There’s nothing particularly memorable about the production for those who devour Asian action fare from the 1970s to the present. But it’s non-gory enough to embrace those preferring character and story arcs to blood lust, while having a fair amount of mayhem for the adrenaline junkies.
EYE FOR AN EYE: BLIND SWORDSMAN (MU ZHONG WU REN), in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles, debuts Friday, Nov. 28, streaming on demand and on DVD and Blu-Ray.
