Swordsman
1990
Directors: King Hu, Raymond Lee, Ching Siu-Tung, Tsui Hark, Ann Hui, Yuen Wah
Stars: Jacky Cheung, Sam Hui, Lam Ching-Ying, Yuen Wah, Cheung Man, Cecilia Yip, Wu Ma, Fennie Yuen
Because I really have no other way to descirbe this movie, I'm going to use the old cliche of "too many directors spoiling the broth" here. King Hu (the film's original director) got understandably mad at the lack of a script and left the production, leaving the action directors and producers to take over. Perhaps the film-makers were too ambitious; the movie is an adaptation of a 2,000 page novel and they try to squeeze a lot of characters into the mix. The basic story is pretty simple -- various groups are going after a scroll which grants the holder near-unlimited power -- but the movie quickly becomes a convoluted mess as we must try to learn every (and I mean every) character's backstory and motivation. Trying to keep tabs of who's who and what's what in Swordsman is a losing battle.
Still, I did find myself becoming interested in some of the characters and their fates, and the action is top-notch if you enjoy wire-fu. Even though Swordsman is a train wreck of a movie, and nowhere near the level of its' sequels, it's a pretty fun ride.
RATING: 6.5