[1999 was a good year.] This film was made to cash in on the box office success of The Storm Riders and the uncanny popularity of Ekin Cheng as some sort of martial arts superstar' with the Hong Kong movie-going audience. He does 'look good' when performing, that's for sure.

Teamed with producers Wong Jing and Manfred Wong, director/cinematographer Andrew Lau had been quite prolific during the 4 years spanning 1997 to 2000. After beginning his career in the 1980's shooting films like Where's Officer Tuba? and As Tears Go By, Lau rose to prominence as a director with the extremely popular Young and Dangerous and its wildly successful sequels.

This is another case of some very cool cinematic sequences that don't add up to a complete film experience. Again CG effects are used to enhance the film; most notable is a spectacular sword battle on and around the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately, the screenplay is tainted with the most politically incorrect retelling of the Chinese experience in the American West since Sammo Hung's Once Upon A Time in China and America.

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Copyright 2001 j.crawford