Verdict
Summary
Based on a Chinese legend that has apparently been adapted into previous films, The Flying Swordsman (known as The Hidden Fox in other territories) is a surprisingly engaging and stylish film that has really nicely staged fight scenes, convincingly portrayed characters (the makeup and costume really sell the villainy), and a clever sense of style that I rarely find in Chinese films these days.
Plot:
Eight villains quest for a treasure.
Review:
A conspiracy to be rid of a sword master is executed by a group of villains, and their treachery is rewarded with the master’s treasure – a box containing a map and a key that supposedly leads to a treasure even greater. 10 years pass and the villains disperse, but they’re reunited again when the master’s map and key come back into play when a young swordsman stealthily plays his cards right and gets the villains to go on the quest for the elusive treasure. The young swordsman who calls himself the Hidden Fox begins eliminating the villains one by one in clever ways as they all compete to find the treasure first, and when the Hidden Fox reveals himself to be the son of the sword master who was killed 10 years ago, the villains scramble to kill him before he uses the map and the key to find and claim the treasure before they do.
Based on a Chinese legend that has apparently been adapted into previous films, The Flying Swordsman (known as The Hidden Fox in other territories) is a surprisingly engaging and stylish film that has really nicely staged fight scenes, convincingly portrayed characters (the makeup and costume really sell the villainy), and a clever sense of style that I rarely find in Chinese films these days. Director Lei Qiao did a much better than average job at combining all the right Wuxia elements to make this one a big cut above the rest.
Well Go USA will be releasing The Flying Swordsman only on DVD on January 9th. It’s odd that a movie this good only warrants a DVD and not a Blu-ray because this was much better and more engaging than some of the other titles they release on Blu-ray. Other than some bonus trailers, there are no bonus features. It’s only available in a subtitled version, no dubbing.
