Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

bcheng93 a lot of reviewers are saying that this one is almost as good as the second installment which had jet Li as the lead. what crack are they smoking? do they even know what a good movie is. if jet Li were to star in the first one there never would have been a second one because he didn't have the acting chops to make the first one a success. yes, the swordsman actually had good acting by SAM Hui who was the lead. Cecilia yip was so much better in the first one then Michelle reis was in the second. Sharla cheung was better then Rosamund kwan and King Hu is a better director then tsui hark.a mystical scroll that gives supreme power to the owner is stolen from one of the chambers in the imperial palace and the hunt is on for it. everybody wants it except for SAM Hui and his band of brothers who are all about justice and morals. there's eunuchs, kung fu clans and outlawed kung fu clans, there's double and triple crosses, there is the fight between good and evil and not everything is what it seems.the action choreography was done by Ching siu tung who is the best at wire kung fu and it shows. the movie was probably made on a shoestring budget but looked like a million dollars. the score was awesome and the theme song to the movie is unforgettable. try to get the translation for the song it really has deep meaning...generally about life itself and how fickle life is. we had my favorite singer Jacky cheung in one of his first award winning roles and the unforgettable fang yuen who played blue phoenix, a boy crazy snake charmer.this movie was a passing of the guard from the old wuxia to the new wuxia movies of today, so it is important based on that alone. it was done very well considering it was only 2 hours long and the book had volumes as i recall.they don't make movies like this enough, with a good storyline, likable actors, good fight scenes...i mean everything was good about this movie and the second one was good but this one is great!

yrn When talking about the Asian movie "Swordsman", people usually tend to think about Jet Li, who stars the first sequel. This first movie however is better in every department.First and foremost, while still being a wuxia movie, the Swordman is paced, shot and cut in such a way that everyone can enjoy and appreciate it. The story is clear and you don't have to do guesswork on what's what, and why, like with some Asian movies with insufficient translation or constrained scenes. The adventure unfolds effortlessly and feels whole, which has to be a miracle of sorts when considering the difficulties it faced while in production (changing directors).The movie has such a good soundtrack that the themes are used in the latter movies too, and features few music scenes which add to the story very nicely and let's you get a breather between all the adventuring.Sam Hui obviously isn't a martial arts kinda guy and comparisons between Jet Li and him are a bit silly, but on his defence, he doesn't shy away from jumping around and about. He displays his physical side more than adequately. He's a comedy actor and while Jet Li portrays a pretty solid and cheerful Ling too, I prefer Hui's who is more human and softer around the edges.Because the action isn't anywhere as fierce and raw as in the sequels, this first Swordman movie is much more viewer friendly.This is not an action movie! This is an adventure movie!

BA_Harrison The first in an epic Wuxia trilogy, Swordsman was a major success on its release in 1990 and spawned two sequels (which helped to boost the careers of Hong Kong superstars Jet Li and Brigitte Lin).I, however, found the film to be a passable affair, spoilt somewhat by a meandering storyline, a rather overlong running time and a visual style which often left me scratching my head as to what exactly had just happened. In true Wuxia fashion, the emphasis is not on realism, rather on aesthetic value, and fights scenes become chaotic colourful whirlwinds of limbs, smoke, and clothing; whilst this looks impressive, it is also very hard to follow.Also rather hard to follow is the storyline; at first I was doing OK, but as more and more characters were introduced, I became lost as to who was doing what and why. The basic premise is that there exists a scroll—The Prized Sunflower Volume—that promises "supernatural powers to see through things and to let out power over great distances", thus assuring its owner supreme martial arts powers. When the scroll is stolen, a power hungry eunuch realises the importance of the document and employs his best men to try and retrieve it. It's at about this point I got a bit lost plot-wise (I partly blame this on watching the film whilst suffering from the flu and partly on the film just being plain confusing).Swordsman features a terrific cast: Sam Hui, Cecilia Yip, Jacky Cheung, Lam Ching-Ying, and one of my personal favourites of HK cinema, the great Yuen Wah. However, their combined talents do little to improve the movie. Yuen Wah, in particular, is completely wasted; his impressive martial arts skills are hardly used at all. Instead, he is required to leap about on a wire a bit, laugh maniacally and wave his hands at the good guys (supposedly fighting with his 'chi')—very disappointing! Its not that I disliked everything about Swordsman—any film which features killer bee kung fu, two headed snake kung fu, and an attack with a waterwheel can't be all bad—but given its reputation and the great cast involved, I was expecting the film to become an instant favourite of mine.I was about to give Swordsman 6 out of 10, until I remembered the awful theme song 'Proud Laughing World of Martial Arts', which was repeated time and time again throughout the movie, ad nauseum. I'm going to deduct a point for that...

gwailo247 This movie has all the ingredients needed for a great martial arts movie: The base for this movie is that a powerful martial arts scroll has gone missing and everyone and their eunuch is out to find it.Throw in several clans, each with their own unique martial arts style.Stir in a shifty official with an even shiftier underling.Add several dashes of mistaken identity.Several betrayals and double crosses add a touch of spice to the film.Quickly add an old martial arts master, snake throwing poisoners, and a mysterious birthmark.To top off add a song bellowed by two old men that will never leave your head, and you have the best movie in all the Five Ranges!If none of these things made sense, then watch the movie as soon as you can, it will all be very clear.