Reviewed by: Inner Strength Date: 07/25/2002 Summary: Inaccurate events For those who don’t know their Chinese history, don’t watch this film thinking it was an accurate account of real events. If you know the history of Taiwan, then you will know that during the early years of 1600 the Dutch and Spanish were among European countries that did a lot of trade in Asia. The Dutch and Spanish fought for years over Taiwan (known then as Tapanga) and booted the Chinese and Malaysians out. However, in 1661 the Chinese fought back for what they considered their island which had now also been invaded by Japan. This film is supposed to be set during this war, but there are several little things that have been inaccurately placed or missed out in the film. It’s these small things that ruin the film from being serious for me (saying that though, I think most people wouldn’t notice). That said, apart from the war atmosphere, there are a few small stories involving a few of the Chinese, but not nearly as long enough to get you into the film. The real problem with this kind of film I suppose is that a lot happened during that war and so little time to show the viewer. The good majority of the film is physical fight scenes, and quite hard to judge the actors. Obviously as many would expect, Vincent Zhuo is pretty good in this though. I think it’s a mistake making films like this nowadays, as these period ‘swords-play’ films died out years ago, and many people are clearly not going to be interested in films like this. However, it’s a good attempt to see how people respond to films like this again, but unfortunately going by the poor production of this film and the little interest it’s got, I would say that the point has been proved…that Chinese cinema enthusiasts don’t want to see these films anymore. Who knows though, this genre could take off again one day. Good attempt at revamping the ‘swords-play’ films, but one for fans of that genre only. Certainly not one I would recommend to anyone else though, as the story is inaccurate and very poor production on the whole (as the other reviewers mentioned, poor directing, editing etc). The music though is quite good though, and the best I have heard in a film for a while (though I suspect a lot of it is 'borrowed' and not actually produced especially for the film). Also, I don’t know what the quality of the DVD is like, but the VCD quality is terrible. If you do get it, I would imagine the DVD would be much better. My rating is not taking into account the inaccuracies of the story, otherwise it would be less. If you don’t know the history of Taiwan then it’s probably better seeing this than those who do. [3.5/5]

Reviewed by: pjshimmer Date: 06/03/2002 Summary: Bad, but not too bad For a film that only grossed 1/16 of that of the One Armed Swordsman from 35 years ago (this is very sad indeed), it's not too bad. Granted, the editing really sucks, and the plot isn't executed as well as that of OUATIC, but they are made up by the great scenery, the high quality custom, and the nice locations. I guess the camera crew and the cinemotographer did a really good job, while the writers and the editors must have been amateurish. I cannot determine the reason for this box office flop, but it probably has to do with 1 of 2 things. 1 could be that now is just a really bad time for a period, historical film. 2 could be the subject in the film. It's about Zhen Chenggong, a Mainlander, saving Taiwan from the Dutch, which could have been a sensitive subject--I don't know. Either way, this film deserved better for its high budget production value. You don't see many HK films like this these days, so this may be your best bet. [7/10]

Reviewed by: MrBooth Date: 01/06/2002 Summary: Nice story, badly made film What has happened to poor Chiu Man Cheuk's career? He should have stayed under Tsui Hark's wing where he was effectively used, rather than strike out for star roles that he just doesn't have the charisma to carry. Here we see him in a period epic that looks relatively high budget (lots of extras in full costume battling out), but is very badly made. Chiu plays a patriot who is adamant about defending the Qing against outside threats at all costs (or is it the Ming? I swear I can never remember which is which). His loyalty earns him the favour of the king, but he finds that loyalty is not currently in favour elsewhere. The movie could probably have been pretty good, as the subject is interesting. It's just directed, filmed, edited, acted etc in a very amateurish feeling way. Chiu just isn't a good actor, and in this movie he doesn't even get much chance to show what he can do well... there's a couple of brief scenes where he shows some moves, but far too few and badly filmed at that. Unlikely to get Chiu any more roles in blockbuster hits any time soon :(