makotojs Really love this movie!!! :D It has all the wonderful elements I like about martial arts movie - An excellent plot, beautiful scenery, wonderful martial arts choreography and throw in some well done humor and you've got an excellent movie. I really liked the actress who played the evil empress - there was a lot of depth to her character. It was correctly paced and I never felt bored watching the movie. As a martial artist, I really appreciated the choreography. The fighting scenes were exciting to watch and reminded me of the good old days before crouching tiger hidden dragon where there was less flying moments. This choreography has a good mix of both.Overall, I'm so happy I got to watch this movie and as soon as it comes out in DVD I'm going to buy it for all my friends and family :D Also, I really liked the message in this movie. Unfortunately, I can't state what it is or it's be a spoiler. ^_^

vnottsnguyen At first, this film is not well-acted without any painstaking effort from the producer or the director (Victor Vu). In this film, for his sake, Nguyen Vu decided to move out where he was brought up and came to the town to find out the truth. However, when the secrets were clarified, he easily refused to revenge who dared to kill all of his family. It was so ridiculous and rigid. this context should be somehow ambivalent which will either deliver a painful bane to innocent people or bring a elated boon when finally killing "demons". Moreover, film background was not definitely impressive. Not like a Chinese drama, a city would be crowded of people and shops, but in this film, it is poorly not. But it is just one of the vanguards in making history film in Vietnam, it should not be discouraged.

Alison Young Nguyen Vu (Huynh Dong) is brought to the home of a monk after his entire family is killed at the order of the Queen, Thai Hau (Van Trang), who suspects the Nguyen family of assassinating her husband who happened to have died while in their home. The monk trains young Nguyen Vu in wuxia (the Chinese type of martial arts that one sees in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" - all floating through the air and walking up walls) and when he is old enough, tells him who he really is. This sets Nguyen Vu on the road to avenge his family's name; along the way, he meets Hoa Xuan (Mi Du) and her older sister Hoa Ha (Kim Hien), who have their own, very similar, reasons for wanting to destroy Thai Hau. They have many opponents, of course, including a bald-headed scar-faced man who appears to do Thai Hau's bidding but really is in league with another aspirant to the throne. And all of them are in search of the possibly non-existent blood letter, a letter written in blood by a dying eunuch who knew all the secrets of the royal household at the time of the Nguyen family's fall and the Queen's rise. How the two sisters and Nguyen Vu meet their challengers, and what fates await them, is all in God's hands, according to Nguyen Vu's mentor, but perhaps he can create some of his own fate....This is Vietnam's first foray into the realm of epic historical martial arts film, and while there is little that is new here, there is much to enjoy. First of all, the storyline is fairly clean (as these films go, anyway) and, while derivative, the action sequences are extremely well executed. In addition, the beauty of the Vietnamese countryside is given ample scope - by turns lush and harsh, beautiful and treacherous, this is an absolutely stunning film visually. One finds oneself caught up in the story to the extent of cheering when the hero wins a fight and booing when the bad guys turn up. There are some terrific fantasy sequences thrown into the mix, as at the very beginning when a statue of a lion/dragon in the monk's courtyard comes to life and the monk must battle it to return it to its stone state, and towards the very end when Nguyen Vu finds himself battling his foe on a lake or river, gathering his strength for one last push against his oppressor. Even the evil Queen becomes somewhat more sympathetic towards the end, which I felt was a very nice, humanizing, touch. I wouldn't list this film among the very best of its kind, but I *would* buy it should it appear in DVD form in the future, as it was quite entertaining and very beautiful to look at.

Minh Nguyet Nguyen The plot of "Thien Menh Anh Hung" is pretty much banal. I feel like each moment of the film reminds me of something I've seen in the past. Nothing new. Nothing exciting. What bothers me the most is that the film adopts too many features of Chinese martial arts movies, to such an extent that it really becomes a cliché. Victor Vu definitely didn't spend enough time and effort on developing a unique style and plot for his blockbuster.The beautiful cinematography somehow makes up for the film's lack of originality. It does a great job of portraying beautiful scenery in Vietnam, and adds a great deal to the success of the film.