Search - Swordsman II on DVD

The best version yet of this WILD-FAST CrAzY Kung Fu movie!!

Francisco Cortes | 05/31/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are like 3 versions of this movie: 1- The Legend of the Swordman, 2- Swordman II, 3- Swordman II Special Edition (this one).

The first version has the best image and sound quality but the language is only in English and the violent scenes are edited, the second version has only the chinese languages and it's uncut but the dvd is not so easy to control, this version has only the chinese languages, it's uncut and easy to control but the image and sound were not SOOO remastered.
Maybe the perfect version will be released from Dragon Dynasty.

The movie is GREAT if you like japanese ninjas fighting chineses in a CrAzY way, but don't expect that Jet Li will be the one man army! This movie is more like fighting together as a team.

WARNING: In this movie, most of the BEST fighting scenes are at midnight! I hope that doesn't bother you.

Adios."

A fantastic story of action and sacrifice but beware the ter

Mark Meloon | Santa Barbara, CA United States | 02/09/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Fans of Hong Kong cinema will definitely want this famous martial arts epic in their personal library. This was Jet Li's highest grossing HK film and it made Brigitte Lin a star. The martial arts are entirely of the supernatural wuxia variety here so don't expect something realistic like Li's "Fist of Legend". The visuals are eye-popping and you won't believe your eyes as you watch ninjas ride supersized airborne shurikans as though they were magic carpets, sexy Blue Phoenix shoot snakes out of her shirt sleeves, and Master Wu's "Essence Absorbing Stance".

In addition to the frenetic action, the plot and character development is interesting, although significantly hampered by the terrible subtitles. Rather than using the subs in the theatrical and laserdisc versions, new, incomprehensible subtitles have been added. A lot of the subtlety has been lost and I particularly was frustrated that villian "Asia the Invincible" was referred to simply as "Dawn" in the new subtitles. The whole point of the movie is that Asia has become seduced by his/her newfound power to the point that she starts referring to herself as "Invincible". "Dawn" just doesn't convey that sense of overconfidence.

Each character wrestles with their own conflicts. Jet Li wants to retreat from the world of martial arts with his "brothers" and do nothing more than drink wine, yet he gets pulled into an epic conflict. Kiddo can't decide whether she wants to be treated like a lady or one of the guys. The tribal leader wants to tell Jet Li that she loves him but feels her first duty is to protect her troupe and find her father. Blue Phoenix wants to be a loyal second-in-command but can't help but mouth off one too many times. And Asia the Invincible makes an incredible personal sacrifice to bring power to the oppressed Sun Moon Sect, but is ultimately seduced by the incredible power without realizing it.

This is one of my favorite HK films, but the awful subtitles kept me from granting it the full five stars it deserves. I have no idea why they got rid of the original theatrical subtitles, but that was clearly a mistake. Still, if you're a fan of over-the-top action and films where characters are trapped between their desires and their duties, this is a must-have movie."