Hark Tsui's “FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE”

Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald

Hark Tsui’s FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE at times reminded me of a Saturday morning cartoon. It’s almost Tom-and-Jerry-like in its portrayal of action and violence. Yet it’s immensely entertaining if only for its exotic locations, diverse costumes, visual splendor, and fascinating facial tattoos. 

What about the story? Well, I watched an English dubbed version and I think, literally, something was lost in the translation. At times I had a hard time figuring out who were the bad guys and who were good guys. That plus the rather clumsy use of confused identities and character twists add to the incoherence. 

Despite all that I was consistently entertained especially by the physics defying gymnastics and the ridiculous use of thrown weapons. Plus, the outrageous and epic sets and CGI-generated weather and city effects are truly spectacular. 

But don’t expect to take anything seriously about this movie.

Review copyright (c) 2013 by Dennis D. McDonald