Swordsman II
by Siu-Tung Ching, Stanley Tong
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Brigitte Lin, Jet Li, Michelle Reis, Rosamund Kwan, Waise LeeDirector: Siu-Tung Ching, Stanley Tong
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Vietnamese (Subtitled); Japanese (Subtitled); Georgian (Subtitled); Thai (Subtitled); Cantonese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Mandarin Chinese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Mandarin Chinese (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: AC-3, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Running Time: 109 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-08-14
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Tai Seng Video Marketing
Movie Reviews of Swordsman II
Movie Review: The greatest Chinese martial arts movie ever!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Swordsman II" kicks off one year after the events in "Swordsman", although it is not necessary to watch the first movie in order to appreciate its sequel. Both movies are adaptations of Louis Cha's novel, "The Hero who Laughs at the World" ("Xiao Ao Jiang Hu"), although extensive changes have been made to the original story. Most of the main characters from the first movie return but are replaced with different actors. In "Swordsman", the leader of the Huashan clan sacrificed many of his disciples in order to obtain a sacred martial arts manual called the "Sacred Flower Scroll". Disillusioned by his betrayal and by the constant power struggles in the pugilistic world, his remaining disciples, including eldest disciple Ling Huchong (Jet Li) and daughter Yue Lingshan (Michelle Reis) decide to retreat to the Ox Mountain for a life of seclusion. Unfortunately, the Scroll has fallen into the hands of a power-hungry warrior called Tongfang Bubai i.e. "The Invincible Dawn" (Brigitte Lin). Dawn has captured the father of Ling's old flame, Ren Yingying (Rosamund Kwan), and usurped his position as leader of the Miao tribe. He now plans to march north to the Chinese capital with a troop of 300,000 to overthrow the Ming Emperor. Ling agrees to help Yingying rescue her father, and the last of the Huashan disciples are again drawn into a deadly power struggle. "Swordsman II" is absolutely the best martial arts movie ever made. Jet Li is at his charismatic best and is far better as "the hero who laughs at the world" than Sam Hui was in "Swordsman". Ling is not a perfect person - in fact, he is a drunkard and a womaniser, not the best of role models - but he is also upright and loyal, and Jet Li plays him with such good humour and optimism that we easily forgive Ling's flaws. The three lead actresses who play Ling's love interests also give wonderful performances - not to mention they are amongst the prettiest faces in the Hong Kong movie industry. Michelle Reis (who takes over Cecilia Yip's role in "Swordsman") is excellent as the naïve, jealous and tomboyish Lingshan, whom Ling treats as his "little brother". Rosamund Kwan is also great as the world-weary Yingying, who would love nothing more than to leave for a life of seclusion with Ling but remains tied to her father and her people. But the greatest accolades must go to Brigitte Lin for portraying a complex (and male!) character, the Invincible Dawn, a villain for whom audiences could feel empathy. Dawn starts off as a man (Brigitte Lin's voice was replaced with a man's voice in the early parts of the movie) but becomes increasingly feminine as the movie progresses, for reasons revealed later in the movie. He sacrifices everything for power, not for himself, but for the sake of the oppressed minorities he leads. He is quite invincible, except for the fact that he lets his heart and emotional attachments get the better of him during a crucial battle (note: this movie is actually a disguised gay romance!! *grin*). Brigitte is wonderfully icy cold in some scenes but also remarkably vulnerable as the lonely and misunderstood villain in others. So successful was Brigitte (who was a popular actress in romance movies in the 1970s) at portraying Dawn that her acting career, in the doldrums since the 1980s, was spectacularly revived. She later reprised her role as Dawn in the audaciously spectacular but silly sequel "The East is Red". Two other supporting cast members deserve mentioning - Fannie Yuen as Blue Phoenix, Yingying's lieutenant and confidante, and Candice Yu as Dawn's lovely concubine. Fannie was so good as the vivacious Blue Phoenix in "Swordsman" that she was the only character not replaced with another actor in "Swordsman II". Candice, a great favourite amongst Asian TV audiences in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was drawn out of retirement for a cameo in this movie. And finally, while the fight scenes in "Swordsman II" do not have the poetic beauty of those in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" nor the authenticity of those in "Iron Monkey", it uses wireworks to excellent effect. After over a decade, "Swordsman II" is still the definitive martial arts movie yet to be topped by another. Zhang Yimou's "Hero" comes close, but not nearly enough. Tsui Hark (the producer) and Ching Siu Tung (the director) are still my favourite Hong Kong movie makers.
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