House Of Flying Daggers
(2004)
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Near the end of the Tang Dynasty, police deputies Jin (Kaneshiro) and Leo (Lau) tangle with Mei (Zhang), a dancer suspected of having ties to a revolutionary faction known as the House of Flying Daggers. Enraptured by her, the deputies concoct a plan to save her from capture, and Jin leads her north in what becomes a perilous journey into the unknown. |
Hero director Zhang Yimou returns to the swordfighting genre with this visually ravishing and artfully directed martial arts drama. Set in the year 859, the declining Tang dynasty faces revolt from a secret, “Robin Hood and his Merry Men”-like society known as the House of Flying Daggers. Can all-singing, all-dancing, blind knife-throwing showgirl Mei (Zhang Ziyi) guide undercover police captain Leo (Andy Lau) to their mysterious new leader? The film's stand-out sequences include the quite amazing “Echo Dance” — a routine involving scarves, drums and ricocheting beans — and a lush green bamboo-forest showdown. But these early highlights are never quite equalled, as too many drawn-out climaxes and a tepid romantic subplot proceed to bog it down. However, Zhang Yimou's masterful panache, poetic finesse and gravity-bending fight choreography are a continual delight, even if Zhang Ziyi's acrobatic femme fatale steals the entire show.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Lavish cinematography, splendidly concocted martial arts moments and some stalwart performances are finally not enough to compensate for a thin and soggy script.