Rating of
2.5/4
"The Legend Of The Shadowless Sword" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 02/16/12
When an invading army assassinates the entire royal family of Balhae, a lone warrior is dispatched to locate an exiled prince and bring him back to unite the country and repel the invaders. Shadowless Sword's trailer was undoubtedly cut to attract the Hero/Crouching Tiger fan base, but really it has a lot more in common with the high octane swords and sorcery flicks of Tsui Hark and Sammo Hung from the late 80s and early 90s. Everyone with a sword has super powers, people fly around and the scenery (and combatants!) explode on cue and its all very, very silly. The script is really just a series of excuses for fights while the two heroes get all doe eyed over each other and the dialogue is dreadful. Not to mention the fact that the entire supporting cast seem to be doing bad impersonations of Jack Sparrow. But having said all that, it does get one important ingredient right; it doesn't take itself too seriously. The action occasionally crosses the line into absurdity (the scene underwater being the worst example) but as a whole the fight sequences are fun, the girls are pretty and the guys dashing. It's no Hidden Fortress, but as long as you're not expecting high art, it's an amusing distraction.
