The Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate

I am a big fan of action flicks most specially the gruesome and futuristic type.  Big guns, fast cars, muscular men (and women) wearing tights punching and kicking their way out of a barrage of bad guys.  But even before I started to dig these movies, there were Sunday Chinese Action Movies (not sure if that was the title of the show) that I grew up to.

I was a huge fan of sword-wielding  men in elaborate robes flying around pursuing their enemies.  Although martial arts was not as kick-ass back then as it is now, I didn't know any better so I still enjoyed it.  My dad would beat the crap out of me and my brother whenever he sees us jumping from one sofa to another using brooms as swords.  These shows made me dream of taking Kung Fu lessons when I was little and become an action star (I swear!).

Wong Fei Hong (Once Upon A Time In China) was my hero.  And it made Jet Li my all time favorite martial arts action star.  Through out the Once Upon A Time Saga, up until his stint in Dispensables, I've made it a point to do research on his upcoming projects and watch his latest movie.  Since I have not seen him make a real kick ass martial arts film for quite sometime, I was very excited to see his new movie Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate.

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The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate is about a group of vigilante headed by Zhao Huai-an (Jet Li) who aims to free China from its oppressive eunuchs who at that time became extremely powerful and corrupt.  They first target the leaders of the Eastern Bureau and plan to do the same to the leaders of their Western counterparts.  An impersonator of Zhao also resurfaces to help a pregnant woman escape her pursuers.  This is where the plot starts to thicken as the two heads toward the Black Dragon Inn.

The plot offers a lot of interesting characters and exciting twists.  Though I must say, I would have wanted to see more action from Jet Li.  There were a lot of kick ass moments here but sadly, most of them were not his.  Xun Zhou was very impressive here.  Most of the brilliant fight scenes came from her and I would have wanted to see more of her and Jet Li teaming up, but the plot did not allow for that to happen.  The handsome Kun Chen was such a compelling villain and a delight to watch.

Photo Credits

The story is not as gripping as that of Hero or as intense as Fearless but the interesting and likable characters have made up for his short coming.  Unfortunately, the movie also failed to develop them.  It would have been nice if the rise to power of the Eunuchs were explored more but it came out just as an afterthought once the characters gathered at the Dragon Gate Inn and started to fight.

Overall, the fact that it starred Jet Li together with a massive character list that show great skill with the sword, I'm a happy camper.  Its not going to be a very memorable one for Mr. Li, but it is still worth my time of day.