This movie attempts to cast itself as one of those period-piece Kung Fu romances that combine beautiful scenery, very handsome heroes, very wicked villains, exciting and balletic fights, heroic struggles, and romance. Almost, but not quite. The story, which takes place during a Japanese occupation of Taiwan in the late 19th century, substitutes hatred of the Japanese for every other virtue. Typically, for a Taiwan production, the oppressed people and the hero talk about "Taiwan" and not about "China". The hero as a boy witnesses the death of his mother, hides in a company of performers, survives a massacre, kills a Japanese officer, hides again, and witnesses the death of his master. This transforms him into a Robin-Hood-like figure, complete with a scam-artist sidekick. His true love (Vivian Hsu) has moved from a brothel to the quarters of the Japanese governor. Tragedy ensues. The plot continuity is choppy, the writing (as far as I can tell from subtitles) is just plain bad, the fights are often needlessly and explosively bloody, the integrity of the hero compromised, and the "patriotism" little more than common agreement that the enemy is nasty. The hero (Jimmy Lin) does his best with a bad script, and the sidekick is amusing, and Hsu plays her part with the open tenderness that she does so wellshe really ought to have better parts in better movies. Only die-hard Vivian Hsu fans will want to see this movie. It's a mess, except as noted.
