Am I Missing Something?

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

This is a fantasy action movie set in ancient China, where a swordsman named Fragrant Chu (Aaron Kwok) seeks the legendary liquid sword to battle an evil warlock dubbed Batman (Ji-Wai Lau).Filled with colorful costumes and luscious landscapes, this is a pretty adventurous film from start to finish, boasting some sophisticated martial arts and sword-wielding action. Kwok played an OK lead in the movie, being wooden at times in his performance. However, the story is supported by a large cast of characters, most notably Chingmy Yau who plays Flowerless opposite Kwok. The pair had some touching chemistry and romantic moments together that gave the film a dramatic touch.Other actresses include Gloria Yip, Anita Yuen and Winnie Lau, who played the ditsy handmaidens Red, Sweetie and Ron, Loletta Lee as Batman's lover; Fennie Yuen as the swords-woman Chung Yuan; Sharla Cheung as the Jellyfish, keeper of the liquid sword; and Wong Wan-Si as Sea Weed, who provided most of the comic relief in the movie.You feel you are along for the ride in this adventurous film; however, I thought the plot was rushed, leaving few room for character development, plot twists and suspense. Overall though, it's still not a bad adventure/fantasy/comedic film - a good mixture of the three.Grade B-

Hello,Forgive me if I'm missing something obvious, but where does Gordon Liu fit into this film? He's featured on the cover, and his name is prominently listed on the top of the cover (you can even see this on the image here on this website). The DVD I have credits him as playing Flowerless, but I agree with the IMDb credit which lists Chingmy Yau... Flowerless is a woman! Hmmmm. Please straighten this for me if possible, somebody! This is a fantastic film, regardless. It fuses entertainment with excellent choreography, rapid and innovative before-CGI special effects, and some cool music. The love theme really gets me. Sure, the plot gets wobbly, and there's some rather low humor in parts (reminding me of Kung Fu Hustle), but overall, you have to give this film credit as a wild original. I just wonder where Gordon Liu fits in. Hmmmm. Thanks, D,

Beware that if you are buying this because you think that Gordon Liu is the star, he only makes a cameo apperance for about a minute.The subtitles on the region one dvd are of poor quality which only adds to the confusion of the movie itself. Despite these minor flaws, this movie has some great sword fights that are cut together as better than most of these movies. The action is great and it's well worth watching. This is a classic action packed movie with a touch of comedy.

Wires and flying and swastika-wielding Shaolin monks and crude humor and bad subtitling and really really good kung fu and amateur acupuncture and more flying and water worshippers and some more of those in-jokes that "none of me and my friends got" and Batman and Jesus and one of the craziest movies, kung fu or otherwise, ever made. WOW WOW WOW!!! You must see this movie!!!