Tsui Hark is considered by many to be the Steven Spielberg of Hong Kong cinema. A look at his body of work as a director and producer and it becomes clear that while he might share some similarities with Spielberg, he has created a niche all his own. Hark is hands down one of the most exciting filmmakers working in modern cinema, constantly innovating, not always succeeding but always trying to make great films for his audience. Considering that his last two efforts ("The Legend of Zu" and "Black Mask 2") were both failures, fans have been waiting for Hark´s return; roughly four years after his last directorial effort Hark is back with "Seven Swords," a wuxia epic that, despite being somewhat disappointing, at the very least, proves he´s still got the chops to bring some interesting ideas to the silver screen.
The film follows the story of an emperor who declares it illegal for all commoners to practice martial arts. He does this as a way of maintaining a more rigid control over the people; they´re less likely to rebel this way. The film opens when one of his armies is sent in to lay waste to a village that houses known practitioners of marital arts. The emperor has been rewarding his armies with money for providing him with the heads of the martial artists, with no discrimination against age or sex. Nevertheless, one of the villager´s escapes; he´s a formidable opponent and eventually makes his way to a far off village that seems to have been over looked by the emperor. Fast forward to the Mountains of Tian, where seven swordsmen band together and vow to defend the villager´s from the emperor and his invading army.
Hark knows how to use his money wisely as the film looks like it was made on a big budget. The production value is spectacular as is the cinematography and the general look and feel of the film. The action is pretty good too, choreographed by the likes of Lau Kar Leung, Xiong Xin-xin, Tung Wai and Donnie Yen lending a hand as well. Most of the action is great fun, feeling like a throw back to many of Hark´s earlier works, like the "Once Upon a Time in China" series and the "Swordsman" films, on which he was a producer. However, despite the great action scenes the film´s plot seems to meander during it´s two and a half hour running time, never quite finding it´s footing or leaping out at you as you might hope.
Still, the film´s biggest problem isn´t so much the plot, but the characters, which are fairly hollow. Hark and company attempt to inject them with varying levels of humanity, playing off various back stories and fore-fronting a love triangle that seem to distract rather than add to the plot. At the center of this maelstrom is a young woman named Wu (Charlie Yeung), who needs to learn how to believe in herself and trust in those around her. She is supported by a great cast that includes Lau Kar Leung, Leon Lai, and Donnie Yen (among others). Hark never seems to be able to wrangle them all in, instead we get spotty bits of character intermixed with the plot that borderlines on the convoluted side. Considering that there was about an hour of footage left out from Hark´s original unreleased vision for the film, it makes one wonder if the same thing happened here that did to "Kingdom of Heaven."
The film follows the story of an emperor who declares it illegal for all commoners to practice martial arts. He does this as a way of maintaining a more rigid control over the people; they´re less likely to rebel this way. The film opens when one of his armies is sent in to lay waste to a village that houses known practitioners of marital arts. The emperor has been rewarding his armies with money for providing him with the heads of the martial artists, with no discrimination against age or sex. Nevertheless, one of the villager´s escapes; he´s a formidable opponent and eventually makes his way to a far off village that seems to have been over looked by the emperor. Fast forward to the Mountains of Tian, where seven swordsmen band together and vow to defend the villager´s from the emperor and his invading army.
Hark knows how to use his money wisely as the film looks like it was made on a big budget. The production value is spectacular as is the cinematography and the general look and feel of the film. The action is pretty good too, choreographed by the likes of Lau Kar Leung, Xiong Xin-xin, Tung Wai and Donnie Yen lending a hand as well. Most of the action is great fun, feeling like a throw back to many of Hark´s earlier works, like the "Once Upon a Time in China" series and the "Swordsman" films, on which he was a producer. However, despite the great action scenes the film´s plot seems to meander during it´s two and a half hour running time, never quite finding it´s footing or leaping out at you as you might hope.
Still, the film´s biggest problem isn´t so much the plot, but the characters, which are fairly hollow. Hark and company attempt to inject them with varying levels of humanity, playing off various back stories and fore-fronting a love triangle that seem to distract rather than add to the plot. At the center of this maelstrom is a young woman named Wu (Charlie Yeung), who needs to learn how to believe in herself and trust in those around her. She is supported by a great cast that includes Lau Kar Leung, Leon Lai, and Donnie Yen (among others). Hark never seems to be able to wrangle them all in, instead we get spotty bits of character intermixed with the plot that borderlines on the convoluted side. Considering that there was about an hour of footage left out from Hark´s original unreleased vision for the film, it makes one wonder if the same thing happened here that did to "Kingdom of Heaven."
Tsui Hark is considered by many to be the Steven Spielberg of Hong Kong cinema. A look at his body of work as a director and producer and it becomes clear that while he might share some similarities with Spielberg, he has created a niche all his own. Hark is hands down one of the most exciting filmmakers working in modern cinema, constantly innovating, not always succeeding but always trying to make great films for his audience. Considering that his last two efforts ("The Legend of Zu" and "Black Mask 2") were both failures, fans have been waiting for Hark´s return; roughly four years after his last directorial effort Hark is back with "Seven Swords," a wuxia epic that, despite being somewhat disappointing, at the very least, proves he´s still got the chops to bring some interesting ideas to the silver screen.
The film follows the story of an emperor who declares it illegal for all commoners to practice martial arts. He does this as a way of maintaining a more rigid control over the people; they´re less likely to rebel this way. The film opens when one of his armies is sent in to lay waste to a village that houses known practitioners of marital arts. The emperor has been rewarding his armies with money for providing him with the heads of the martial artists, with no discrimination against age or sex. Nevertheless, one of the villager´s escapes; he´s a formidable opponent and eventually makes his way to a far off village that seems to have been over looked by the emperor. Fast forward to the Mountains of Tian, where seven swordsmen band together and vow to defend the villager´s from the emperor and his invading army.
Hark knows how to use his money wisely as the film looks like it was made on a big budget. The production value is spectacular as is the cinematography and the general look and feel of the film. The action is pretty good too, choreographed by the likes of Lau Kar Leung, Xiong Xin-xin, Tung Wai and Donnie Yen lending a hand as well. Most of the action is great fun, feeling like a throw back to many of Hark´s earlier works, like the "Once Upon a Time in China" series and the "Swordsman" films, on which he was a producer. However, despite the great action scenes the film´s plot seems to meander during it´s two and a half hour running time, never quite finding it´s footing or leaping out at you as you might hope.
Still, the film´s biggest problem isn´t so much the plot, but the characters, which are fairly hollow. Hark and company attempt to inject them with varying levels of humanity, playing off various back stories and fore-fronting a love triangle that seem to distract rather than add to the plot. At the center of this maelstrom is a young woman named Wu (Charlie Yeung), who needs to learn how to believe in herself and trust in those around her. She is supported by a great cast that includes Lau Kar Leung, Leon Lai, and Donnie Yen (among others). Hark never seems to be able to wrangle them all in, instead we get spotty bits of character intermixed with the plot that borderlines on the convoluted side. Considering that there was about an hour of footage left out from Hark´s original unreleased vision for the film, it makes one wonder if the same thing happened here that did to "Kingdom of Heaven."
The film follows the story of an emperor who declares it illegal for all commoners to practice martial arts. He does this as a way of maintaining a more rigid control over the people; they´re less likely to rebel this way. The film opens when one of his armies is sent in to lay waste to a village that houses known practitioners of marital arts. The emperor has been rewarding his armies with money for providing him with the heads of the martial artists, with no discrimination against age or sex. Nevertheless, one of the villager´s escapes; he´s a formidable opponent and eventually makes his way to a far off village that seems to have been over looked by the emperor. Fast forward to the Mountains of Tian, where seven swordsmen band together and vow to defend the villager´s from the emperor and his invading army.
Hark knows how to use his money wisely as the film looks like it was made on a big budget. The production value is spectacular as is the cinematography and the general look and feel of the film. The action is pretty good too, choreographed by the likes of Lau Kar Leung, Xiong Xin-xin, Tung Wai and Donnie Yen lending a hand as well. Most of the action is great fun, feeling like a throw back to many of Hark´s earlier works, like the "Once Upon a Time in China" series and the "Swordsman" films, on which he was a producer. However, despite the great action scenes the film´s plot seems to meander during it´s two and a half hour running time, never quite finding it´s footing or leaping out at you as you might hope.
Still, the film´s biggest problem isn´t so much the plot, but the characters, which are fairly hollow. Hark and company attempt to inject them with varying levels of humanity, playing off various back stories and fore-fronting a love triangle that seem to distract rather than add to the plot. At the center of this maelstrom is a young woman named Wu (Charlie Yeung), who needs to learn how to believe in herself and trust in those around her. She is supported by a great cast that includes Lau Kar Leung, Leon Lai, and Donnie Yen (among others). Hark never seems to be able to wrangle them all in, instead we get spotty bits of character intermixed with the plot that borderlines on the convoluted side. Considering that there was about an hour of footage left out from Hark´s original unreleased vision for the film, it makes one wonder if the same thing happened here that did to "Kingdom of Heaven."
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