Francis Ng plays a blind swordsman opposite spoiled and vain rich girl Cecilia Cheung in this 21st century martial arts redux. Full of jokey anachronisms and mo le tau humor, the film is nonetheless affecting due to the charisma and chemistry of the two leads. Francis channels Zatoichi with a twist–he’s a sensitive and noble, lovelorn guy.

He also battles a very bad haircut but miraculously manages to become more and more attractive, even though he spends half the film with his eyes rolled up in his head. The scene where he discovers that Cecilia thinks he’s handsome is classic–charming, funny and convincing. Kudos to Cecilia Cheung (who won Best Actress at the HK Film Awards) for keeping her bratty character light and appealing. Both she and Francis move effortlessly from slapstick to melodrama to romance without missing a beat, demonstrating why they're the best in the biz at what they do.

Wilson Yip continues his schizophrenic directing career, combining wuxia, comedy, romance and satire in classic HK style. This one, as well as Juliet In Love and Bullets Over Summer, makes me wonder what went so terribly wrong with Wilson Yip with Dragon Tiger Gate. Maybe a bigger budget isn't always a good thing, or maybe Donnie Yen's huge ego and pocketbook called the shots with that one.