Brilliant and touching

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This is one my favourite Asian films of all time and I never tire of watching it! It is so emotional throughout and even the music is evocative. The acting and characters are so good that they draw you into the story and the ending is heartrending. I am a big fan of "Hero", "House of the Flying Dragons", "Crouching Tiger..." but this seems to have made much more of an impression on me. The storyline is brilliant and absorbing and there are some great special effects. I do not like run of the mill martial arts, there has to be plenty of over the top action and mystical imagery-which this has plenty of. It is a while since I last watched it-but after writing this review I am tempted to watch it again.

in all i think the acting was pretty good. i think that the main characters: Hyeon-jun Shin (Yu Jinha) and Hee-seon Kim (Sullie)had very good roles and played their parts very well. If its a fantasy film with extreme plots and fights, then this is a film worth watching. The plot can be, at times a little misleading and confusing but you will get the hang of it once its all happening. The fight scenes are suited very well for the genre by using fantasy with weapons etc. The ending suited the genre of film, if a little cliché, similar to a few Asian cinema films. similar to: cthd, hofd, hero. Over all, i think that it is a good film worth watching. there you have it, my very brief summary.

this film seems to be divided into two parts, the one is the martial arts, political part, which is cool and the other is the love story which is far too sappy.the plot is simultaneously thin as paper yet so convoluted as to be incomprehensible, starting with the main character's nose. the story runs something along the lines of "Hero comes from ancient dynasty, knows martial arts secrets, and is in love with a forbidden woman. meanwhile said woman is key to labyrinthine politics involving Mongolian warlords, Chinese Warlords, corrupt officials and everything in between." the double crosses go on endlessly, until it's rather tricky to tell who the hell is betraying who. meanwhile the whole tepid "I loved you once but now you're a murderer, No i'm not you betrayed our love" thing drags on.the fight scenes are fantastically choreographed but poorly shot. characters fly at each other and slash in a graceful sword dance, but the camera tries to match their acrobatics, resulting in an eye hurting riot of movement. the hero's undefeatable signature move (i almost expected him to cry out "Hado-Ken" whenever he uses it) is used way too often, and leaves every fight with a predictable close. it's other problem is that fight scenes are scattered liberally throughout the film, with no correlation between the quality of a fight and its importance, so many of the best fights (an incredible scene as the hero's war band descends on an enemy fort) are used on the most mundane plot points, with average fights for the more important scenes (including a terribly weak climatic fight). the other problem is that since the hero's fighting style is so effective (even without the street fighter style finishing move) that he uses the same moves in every fight, with little to no variation, all the fights end up shockingly repetitive.meanwhile the hero alternates between a quivering lipped softie, and stony faced mannequin. one of the villains fairs much better, and, annoyingly, wins our sympathy far more effectively than the hero does.this may sound an unfair blasting of the film, and i wish i could sound more even handed, but the film could seriously have used some comic relief (one joke in two hours is not too much to ask) some editing (way too much sepia toned slow motion) and just some good old fashioned still cameras (ones that didn't back flip with fight scene) my rating 5/10, potential but mostly squandered

OK, this movie is no Lord of the Rings, or even Crouching Tiger.So what? It might not be a masterpiece of world cinema, but it's rather fun.The plot is cheesy (big plot holes as well) and the love story severely cliché, however the art design and sets are beautiful, the fights fun enough (though a bit puzzling), the leads are all appealing and there is melodrama and angst galore. Yeah, you could do better (Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Musa). But if star-crossed lovers, revenge and period movies are your thing, and you don't mind a few bits where the plot is confusing and/or over-the-top, you can do much worse than Bichunmoo.