Tsui Hark. What does this name bring to mind? Maybe his most well-known film here in the states, Crouching Tiger, hidden Dragon? Perhaps the name simply brings to mind the martial arts genre itself, to which he is no stranger. To me, it brings to mind a man who brings legends to life. He makes men leap incredible heights, forges blades that are nigh unbreakable and generally makes you believe in our own untapped potential as humans. At least, that's how I see it.

They've been hired by the Emperor himself to slay all martial artists, regardless of age or intentions. Wouldn't you know it, this village just happens to be littered with them. So, two young warriors from the village spirit an old warrior as their guide as they venture off in search of a way to save their home. They, of course, return with four more warriors and all seven warriors possess seven swords forged by a master in the mountains.

The mercenaries are surprised, to say the least, that our heroes can actually put up a fight. They're even more surprised when they kill some of their best. After the villains' retreat, we get to briefly know some of our characters a bit before they ride off to cause the baddies some problems on their turf. Our main villain is a general by the name of Fire Wind, who is a master swordsman himself and ex-friend of the leader of the seven warriors. Can you say massive battle scene? Oh yes.

This is truly an excellent film to behold as the actors move so fluidly, much like brush strokes on a canvas. Donnie Yen emits a powerful presence on-screen that literally steals the spotlight in many scenes involving others. The choreography is by far some of the best I've seen from the director, outshining even Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, in my opinion.

My main complaint is that the characters aren't given enough depth. We're given seven great characters but we're barely given a proper taste of who they truly are. Regretfully, it's ultimately unavoidable when you have a large cast and only a little over two hours of film in which to tell the story.

I'd been eager to see this for quite some time and I must say, I was not let down a bit. This was an excellently crafted film with good performances all around. A must-see for any fan of the genre.

• The opening film of the 2005 Venice Film Festival.
• Won the award for "Best Action Choreography" at the Golden Horse Awards.

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