The Legend Of The Flying Swordman (DVD) (US Version) DVD Region All

Fun Li is a sloppy wastrel, a drunk who spends most of his wedding day gazing at the bottom of an upturned jug. His wife, Cher (Gigi Lai, looking psychotic) isn't happy about this, and neither is his dad, a magisterial Sonny Chiba (billed here as "Mr. Chiba"). Marriage, as usual, doesn't turn out to be the magic cure for alcoholism, and Fun spends his days and nights in Ancient Chinese Nightclub, flicking chopsticks at a saucy dancing girl who can apparently cook wine in her cleavage. He won't come home, he won't sober up, he won't even respect his dad. And you don't disrespect Mr. Chiba.

Dad shows up and, as per the tenets of tough love, and drags Fun home by his hair. Hair pulling seems to work, and Fun vows to change and he takes on a job for the family security company. Everyone is thrilled to no end, except terminally unhappy Cher. Inconsolable, she takes a horseback ride and meets Kim Mo-Hon, a spiky-haired Korean who plays a big drum. Their exchange is wordless. Romantic. Intimate. Then he punches her horse in the head and blood mists her face. Just like in the movies.

Things go awry on Fun's security job and he winds up an amnesiac idiot, nursed back to health by a nice young lady living in a hut in the woods. This turns out to be merely a happy interlude, as the movie turns darker and more ominous, until it fades to pitch black and plays like the tormented prequel to a lone swordsman. Bosco Lam is ambitious, and The Legend of the Flying Swordsman comes across like The Blade only without the style or the swordfights. There's one fight near the end, enhanced with Dragonball Z effects, and that's it. The rest is mood and feeling.

A tormented drama starring Dave Wang (his first in eight years) this one was made on the cheap, but its dark, drunk, icy cold mood sticks with you. It's all about parents murdering their children, either literally or psychologically, but not to worry. The parents get murdered, too.

by Grady Hendrix