Derek Childs (totalovrdose)
Shadowless Sword, otherwise referred to as Legend of the Shadowless Sword, is a poignant action drama set in 926 AD, the film efficaciously blending the two separate genres together.So-ha (So-yi Yoon) is the greatest soldier in all Balhae, her skills with a sword, not to mention her training in martial arts, making her an unmatched expert on the battlefield. The Dongdam kingdom, with the strength of the Killer Blade Army at their disposal, is responsible for killing the Balhae royal family, in their quest for total control.A final heir to the throne, Jung-hyun (Seo-jin Lee) lives, and under order from the prime minister, So-ha ventures forth to find him, and bring him back to the capital. Essentially a story of comradery between these two characters as they traverse the dangerous environments, Shadowless Sword develops an emotionally poignant story of love, friendship, honor, remembrance, restoration and growth.Alongside So-ha, Jung-hyun, originally care-free, self-centered and hapless, remembers his former capabilities, and begins to grow beside her into the man he is destined to become. But the journey is far from easy, fraught continuously with peril, as Hwa-pyung (Hyeon-jun Shin), a man consumed by hatred, and Yung-OK (Ki-yong Lee), a woman who is almost as equally efficient as So-ha, hunt them at every turn. The focus on the heroes characterization unfortunately leaves little room for the villains, and though they are developed, it lacks the sense of completion the audience feels for the protagonists by the end of the feature.Some of the abilities and military techniques used during the combat scenarios require a certain amount of suspension of disbelief, which is also true for the moments when characters are able to soar across the air currents with ease, traveling from one part of the field to another in record time. Initially, a number of the fights are executed at an incredible pace, and it can prove difficult to concentrate on what is happening during the flurry of battle, although viewers will quickly adjust. Later, the film includes stunts that are either executed slower, or in slow motion, which really allows the audience to truly appreciate the beauty of the stylized acrobatic combat.The fights are wondrously executed, the violence and beauty of battle remaining steadfast throughout, the same going for the dialogue, which is as intelligent as it is engrossing. The score, including the final song accompanying the end credits, conveys underlining meaning, that draws the audience further into the plot, all of these features combined, not to mention the brilliant acting by the cast, making for tremendous entertainment.
unbrokenmetal
"Shadowless Sword" was one of my favorite wuxia movies in the past 2 years. It has creative ideas (see the fight scene under water!), a great couple of heroes (beautiful So-yi Yoon from "Arahan" and Seo-jin Lee), and its simple principle "keep them on the run" avoids tedious moments. The movie takes us into 10th century Korea. After all possible heirs to the throne have been murdered, the warrioress Soha (So-yi Yoon) must bring the last surviving prince Jeong-hyeon (Seo-jin Lee) to the throne. He'd prefer an anonymous life under cover, though. But since enemies are already knocking at the door, he has no choice but trust the girl, follow her and run for his life...Action packed, maybe not quite as stylish as "Hero" but still good looking, and occasionally with good dialog (for example when the prince wonders if he'd make a good king, he never had to think about that before), "Shadowless Sword" is enjoyable throughout.
three_point_prodigy
This movie could've been a lot better in many aspects. For one, why must many Korean action movies insist on injecting comic relief in some of the more serious scenes. Some fight scenes were obviously meant to make the audience laugh even though the series of actions leading up to it are extremely serious. For example, when the hero fights with the monk (who is out to assassinate him), they were practically fighting Jackie-Chan style until finally the monk dies. WTF?!? If it's a serious movie, then keep it so.Besides the identity crisis issue, this movie has no plot. Unfortunately, this is true for many Asian movies. The director must've be hoping that the action or cgi will make up for the lack of storyline because the strongest hint of a plot in this movie is that a Prince must be brought back to his village alive so that he can rule his people. That's it! I've basically spoiled the whole movie with that line. Asian movies disappoint me because they have no story. Until they start incorporating movies with a plot, their film industries will never be up to par with Hollywood (classic Hollywood anyway).Thirdly, there is absolutely no character development. All you see is the same facial expression on these characters and short flashbacks that are suppose to make you either feel pity for them or despise them. This is a 2 hour long movie of talking, fighting, talking, fighting, talking, etc. You get the point. Anyway, when you get to the end of the movie, the hero supposedly knows a special move perfectly which is used to kill the villain. How corny is that? There is no mention of how that move is performed or how he learned it or who taught him. It just came out of nowhere and kills the villain in a flurry of fast camera moving scenes.Here are other things that are wrong with this movie. It is too long (it wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't boring). It doesn't give off a genuine feeling of an adventure of epic proportions (ei. lord of the rings, narnia, crouching tiger, etc). Also the characters are one dimensional and only wear one or two expressions through out the movie at most. The dialog was weak. Lastly, the picture quality was a letdown at certain points. Some scenes would look like it was taken from old stock footage.The movie wasn't a complete letdown. The goods include thundering fight scenes (you gotta watch it on DTS), good choreography, and sometimes good scenery.
