For those used to Shaw Brothers, Cathay's first wuxia pian,
The First Sword, will seem overly restrained. The swordplay is
by-the-numbers, and despite the presence of most of the tropes
of the genre, the film never really convinces you of the hero's
ability. He is a stuffed shirt and clueless as to the nefarious
machinations going on around him. Tin Ching is over-the-top as
a one-note Faustian traitor who hatches plot after plot.