I saw an extended version of 116 minutes (apparently there is a 104 minute version as well).
First off, the title makes you expect something else. I expected this "Shadowless Sword" to play some pivotal role, but no show. This film should better be named "Back to Balhae" or something, because that's what it's all about: a trek to Balhae. The storyline is pretty thin, but a martial arts movie with an original and strong story is a rare thing, so you shouldn't be too surprised about that.
Technically this movie is very beautifully shot, with excellent art direction and costumes. The stuff on screen really is exquisite and should satisfy costume-aficionados and the artists among us. The actors do a good job too, no overacting or amateurish stuff, but at times over-directed it seems. The two main actresses are very pretty, so very nice to look at. Clearly intended to attract the mainly male target-audience, I guess. No ugly women to be seen, not even with the extras. The fighting scenes are very enjoyable, but they miss the rawness and directness seen in HongKong martial arts movies. And unfortunately some stuff badly copied from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. And overall the pace of the movie was excruciatingly slow. I hope the director and editors will learn that even pretty shots shown too long do get boring.
So bottom line: Don't get me wrong, it IS a rather enjoyable movie, no question about that. But you'll forget in a week or two. Good shot by the Koreans at the Wuxia genre though. Keep 'em coming!
