Not sure if this is a remake of the 1977 “Death Duel” or if it is a movie based on the original novel. The events have been shuffled a bit, the exploited workers changed from rice bag carrying coolies to latrine emptying night soil gatherers and the heroine is more clearly a prostitute working in a brothel. The stunts are pretty spectacular, bookended by single combat on a bridge over an ice-bound river to begin and the final, crucial battle at the end. There are too many people with too much to say to each other, none of it terribly profound although there is some real pathos in the Third Master’s ability to face death without flinching.

Recommended for the wildly creative updated action choreography, much of it a result of special effects and green-screen work. The studios aren’t exactly grinding out a lot of wuxia films these days (or at least they aren’t showing up where I can find them). “Sword Master” is worth catching.