This is epic filmmaking at its best. Visual stunning. Highly dramatic. Poetically told. Director Yimou Zhang has done it again. Not since… well… Yimou Zhang’s HERO earlier this year has the screen become so fantastical.
Set at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the government has become corrupt and a rebellion has begun. The chief rebels are the House of Flying Daggers, a band of assassins who weld deadly accuracy with knives. Two police deputies Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro, RETURNER) and Leo (Andy Lau, 1993’s STREET FIGHTER) suspect that a new blind showgirl Mei (Ziyi Zhang, RUSH HOUR 2) at the brothel may be an assassin. Eventually, Jin poses as a rebel and frees Mei from prison, so that she will lead him to the new leader of the House of Flying Daggers.
The film is a wonderful mix of fantasy, martial arts and romance with a few twists to make things interesting. I enjoyed FLYING DAGGERS more on a story level than HERO, but I think HERO is far more visually arresting. Highlights of the film include an echo game with drums and beans, the bamboo forest fight and the final battle where an autumn day is quickly blanketed with snow.
Ziyi Zhang has never looked more beautiful and Kaneshiro is not too bad to look at either. The film had me on the edge for much of its running time. This is grand entertainment that hits you with visual bravura as well as emotional power.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
