Jeri Jacquin
Currently on DVD from director Lei Qiao and Well Go USA comes the tale of secrets, power and revenge with THE FLYING SWORDSMAN.
There are secrets and conspiracy between a group of villains and a sword master who are all looking for a box that has the destination for treasure. Death follows the group where ever they go destroying village after village trying to put the two together. In the middle of it all is Qing Wen/the Hidden Fox (Chen Yusi) who, as a young boy, has been living with Miao Reneng (Mark Cheng) and his daughter Zheng Sanniang (Chen Zihan).
Now grown, he follows the deceitful plot of Reneng wanting to find both the map and the key before the others in the group of villains. Each villain has a power that the others don’t know about and as they continue their search, the tables are turning as death and destruction come to the villains.
Each of them will soon discover that revenge has a way of coming around!
Yusi as Qing Wen is a powerful character in that he does not have much to say but is observant to everything happening around him and what everyone has to say. He is cautious in following out the plans played out before him but certainly makes it clear that no one is going to stop him from his ultimate goal. Yusi is engrossing to watch in this role and when its time to get serious, his moves are swift and powerful.
Zihan as Sanniang is a beautiful young woman who is obedient to her father and has no problem taking on any fight that comes her way. She, like Qing Wen, does not say much but when she does you can be sure that something bad is about to happen to you! I enjoy watching female characters that don’t mind getting their hands dirty and Zihan’s character is all in from start to finish.
Cheng as Reneg is an evil man using every one around him to get what he wants and that is especially true when treasure is involved. He may be a vindictive villain but he definetly has plans of his own and doesn’t care what anyone else says or wants. Using his daughter and ward Qing Wen to obtain his devilish goals, Cheng is on the mark with the mix of emotions for his character but evil always wins out in his case.
Other cast include Ray Lui as Tao Baisui, Ben Ng as Hu Yidao, Chu Yu Shan Shan as Bao Shu, Fu Jia as Yin Ji, Huawei Zhao as Gui Yu and Yi Yang as Zhou Yunyang.
Well Go USA Entertainment is a theatrical and home entertainment company specializing in bringing the best Action, Genre and Independent films from around the world to North American markets. As a leader in independent film distribution, Well Go USA Entertainment’s titles can be seen across a variety of platforms including theatrical, digital, subscription and cable VOD, packaged media and broadcast television. Well Go USA Entertainment currently releases three to five films per month. To see more please visit www.wellgousa.com.
THE FLYING SWORDSMAN is a in Mandarin with English subtitles and has a running time of 104-minutes of action.
The film definetly embraces action and swordplay but with each of the eight villains having their own powers that are unique. I enjoyed that each didn’t know what the other’s power was which made for interesting and continual plot twists. The setting for the film is set in snow, blizzards and fog acting as a silent villain if you ask me. That being said, it is a perfect set up allowing the moments of scenic color to truly feel vibrant.
Director Qiao has taken given this story many levels and it is important to keep up with the timeline. The tale has so many twists, turns and subplots that one bowl of popcorn wasn’t enough for me. So, make sure the bowl is big enough and settle in for an epic tale of revenge, greed and secrets!
In the end – soon there will be no more secrets and plenty of revenge!
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