It starts with men riding horses across a sandy basin and stopping at an inn. They order food but then they all are smitten by the waitress. The boss takes her out to rape her. The others start murdering. They leave without eating their meals. It is obvious who the bad guys are in this movie. Chang Yi returns from getting water to find his family killed.
I also watched the video CD release as "Stormy Sun". I have never seen the ridiculously titled version.
Chang Yi's first fight is against four opponents. It leaves plenty of room for improvement. He finds the killer and the next fight sequence does take it up a notch. Chang Yi must retreat because he was shot. I've said it before and I will say it again, guns have no place in martial arts movies. Pai Ying enters the movie as an expert fighter. He gets work as muscle for the bad guys.
The fights do get better. Weapons, in particular the Japanese katana, are used toward the end and in the final fight. The fighter does hold the katana with the correct grip, something I always watch. A whip is also used. I have practiced martial arts for over thirty years and a whip is not a real weapon in any style of fighting. It is used in movies, I think, because risk of injury is minimal.
Overall I rate this as simply average for the year and genre.
