Found it quite dull

Now bear in mind this is only my opinion and as we all know there is no right/wrong or best/worst as film is all subjective.

Having been a life long martial arts film fan I was excited to see this when it came out but I really found the film to be incredibly dull and a bit slow.

Don't get me wrong I love a slow burning movie and I like proper textured dramas but I just found it a little tedious and I can't see what all the fuss is about. The acting is good but it's only slightly better than other Hong Kong productions and I don't think the film looks anywhere near as lush as other films in the genre either.

The final straw was the action which, although very well staged again seemed a bit lifeless especially from master action choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping. Compared to other films like Iron Monkey (A Yuen Woo-Ping directed film) or Once Upon a Time in China the fights are no-where near as intense and are lacking proper hard hitting sound effects which, although many dismiss as being cheesy, are essential for impact in these films to match the intense choreography.

I will say that I prefer the more grounded hand to hand martial arts style action as opposed to the wirework with swords. Don't get me wrong I like those sorts of films as well I just didn't quite see how CTHD was really any better that most HK movies of this sort other than having a little more of a solid structure but it certainly wasn't groundbreaking.

But yes that's my view. I really wanted to like it and it's a well made film but being slow doesn't always mean quality or class and I certainly wouldn't call it a masterpiece. At best it's a pretty good film if you are into this style.

Again just my opinion. By all means enjoy the film if you are in to it.