random_avenger Korea, the late era of Joseon dynasty: Gyu-yeob (Jae-hyeon Jo) is a brutal but skilled warrior who starts tracing a mysterious assassin who has been murdering the King's ministers. Soon clues point to the assassin being Gyu-yeob's old military friend Ji-hwan (Min-su Choi) who he has fond but tragic memories of. What is the truth behind the revolutionary killer and his female assistant Shi-yeong (Bo-kyeong Kim)?As can be expected from a historical epic, the sets, costumes and massive group scenes look authentic and the colours of the cinematography, such as the green forests and blue night scenes are a joy to the eye. Still, it's harder to sink into the world of the film than in, say, Yimou Zhang's masterpiece Hero, largely because of the restless camera-work that would be better suited in an urban modern-day action thriller than a historical warrior epic. The camera spins around the characters, constantly tracks them, shakes as if in the hands of an epileptic and even goes to very blurry slow motion for long periods of time, making the already hectic fight scenes confusing to follow. The calmer, more static shots in the peaceful scenes look very nice though; I wish this approach would have been used more prominently.Technical direction issues aside, the film's writing isn't really among my favourites of the genre either. As Gyu-yeob is such a cold and aloof warrior, it is difficult to relate to him and his emotions about his long-forgotten friendship with Ji-hwan. Now the lengthy flashback scene detailing their time together interrupts the main plot for too long; perhaps a traditional chronological structure or showing smaller flashbacks more evenly would have worked better. The long-haired Ji-hwan is a stylish character though and easily carries the scenes where he is in. The female Shi-yeong receives less attention and her role doesn't come across a very significant one, despite her implied importance to Ji-hwan.In summary, I think Sword in the Moon is a visually good-looking, but not very effectively directed epic in which the nature of friendship is a major theme. A calmer style of presenting the action scenes would have benefited the whole significantly and suited the extravagant, even pompous, music better. I guess the characters could also have been fleshed out better, but in spite of my complaints, the film is not terrible and fans of historical sword epics should find it easily watchable – give it a chance if this type of cinema is your thing.

dbborroughs The best swordsman in the kingdom is tasked with finding out who is killing the ministers and looking to kill the king. The answer to the question lies in the past, specifically with the events that put the king on the throne-and it raises questions our hero may not want to deal with.Okay action/mystery/drama that is epic and compelling for a while before it just seems to be wandering on with no direction. There is a direction and there is a resolution, but by the end I really didn't care. Its not that its bad, its just that it didn't grab me or rather hold me. Worth a look if you run across it but I wouldn't go out of my way to find it.between 5 and 6 out of 10

wjc722 After seeing a preview for this film at my local mall where there is a stand for purchasing foreign films, I thought it looked very entertaining. Before watching the movie i went on to IMDb to see what ratings and comments it received. I was worried when I noticed the low numbers and the negative ratings. Despite the hype, I watched to movie and to my surprise I found it unbelievable. The story was great (just pay attention) and the characters and their relationships within the film is astonishing. I haven't seen such a good combination of leading characters in long time. I really felt for both characters and sensed a strong bond. As reading previous posts about this movie not being "epic" enough or a lack of martial arts I could not disagree more. This film is what it is, its not Braveheart and its not Enter the Dragon but it is still a wonderful film that does an excellent job combining story both and action.While Sword In The Moon isn't perfect (what movie is?) it still is wonderful and moving. Just wait until the ending scene, with the music and cinematography together, its breathtaking. I only hope more people can see this movie to give it a fair voting.

dgwyn I saw the movie on its North American premiere (July 14, 2004) at the Fantasia Festival. I was slightly disappointed as I had been expecting a more epic, ensemble cast movie along the lines of Musa the Warrior. Instead, the movie concentrated only a much smaller number of characters. Still, the movie was solid, thoughtful and visually intriguing. There were slightly jarring tone shifts from the dominant thoughtful and realistic tone of confused loyalties, intrigue and blood, versus the lighter, more flamboyant, martial arts sequences. It almost seemed as though the filmmakers couldn't make up their minds about whether the movie was supposed to be a martial arts "flick" or a historical epic. The story touches nicely on the issue about the need for loyalty versus the need to adapt to new situations. Is it really worth your life and those of your friends to be loyal to one's master or does there come a time when one must submit to the winds of change? Is there perhaps greater courage in leaving the old ways for new ones? How does one decide? These questions are raised in this movie, and ironically, there is the suggestion that the answer given, may in fact be the wrong one!