Leofwine_draca Highly impressive and visually stunning, this epic movie may well be Tsui Hark's finest hour. The effects-laden adventure takes the old 'quest to destroy evil'-style storyline and imbues it with all manner of then-top of the range special effects, the result being one heck of an experience which never lets up from the very beginning. Whist keeping the distinctive Chinese comedy at the forefront of the movie, so that it never becomes too dark, Hark mixes in a storyline involving monsters, demons, and mysterious angel-like heroes, all of which are highlighted by some imaginative designs in both the sets and the costumes. Although some of the special effects have dated - at one point the Blood Monster looks just like what it is, a red sheet, and some of the back projection is highly cheesy - on the whole this is great entertainment where everything works as one.What else do we have? Not least a strong cast of seasoned performers, top lined by Yuen Biao giving yet another of his mannered, highly athletic and likable heroes, plus Mang Hoi as his faithful friend and fellow fighter. Sammo Hung is in here too, playing dual roles as both an army buddy of Biao's and the hilarious "Long Brows" wizard, who spends the film holding the evil monster at bay just by using his beard and eyebrows! Female characters are also strong with fierce fighting from Moon Lee and Brigitte Lin and plenty of powerful countesses and mysterious goddesses in the thick of the action.The film is highly atmospheric, with some extremely creepy sets at the beginning of the movie, utilising the good old dry-ice machine and plenty of cobwebby caves and desolate moor land. The horror fan will no doubt enjoy the countless attacks from flying glowing-eyed demons, killer roots, evil wizards, and the impressive Blood Monster itself, whilst the screen is often awash with beautiful colours as fighters hurtle by on spinning discs and throw multi-coloured balls of fire and beams at each other. Not only is this good and pacy entertainment, it's grand entertainment on an epic scale, the kind of old-fashioned movie you didn't think they could make anymore in the '80s, that needs to be seen.

gulliverstu What you'll take away from this film very much depends on your own experiences and preferences towards cinema. It is heavy on special effects, the plot is somewhat confusing (no more so than most kung-fu fantasy movies) and due to CGI in 2006 being so good, it does look rather dated. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It made me reminisce on those Saturday / Sunday morning films I used to watch as a kid (like Sinbad)which were great fun without being particularly thought provoking or cinematic masterpieces. The actors do their bit and the film has a genuine comedic edge to the dialogue, and some excellent visual comedy too. The music is suitably dramatic, stirring and heightens the feeling of awe caused by the special effects and snappy camera-work. Groundbreaking in terms of special effects (1983!!)and a real comeback for fantasy kung fu, but a little light in characterisation and looks a bit dated. I also prefer martial arts films with conventional fight scenes so would have liked a few more of those. Worth seeing.

drngor Because this movie was made in the 1980s, I did not expect the special FX to be the equivalent of anything made in the states, or even up to the level of The Stormriders. However, I found this film a lot more enjoyable than the latter. This film is almost a non-stop ride full of swordfights, optical FX battles, flying people, and it still leaves room for some interesting themes also.The plot deals with a soldier being disillusioned by the endless civil wars that have been fought. He goes to a mountain where he joins a swordsman, a monk and his apprentice, Sammo Hung, and some lovely ladies in a quest to defeat the Blood Demon, a being of pure evil. On the way, the soldier (Yuen Biao) and the monk's apprentice (Mang Hoi) must find some swords to use in the battle.The action is nearly non-stop. It first starts out with some basic swordplay. Once Yuen reaches the mountain, than everything shifts into overdrive. Optical FX fly across the screen at dizzying speeds. Humans and demons fly across the screen at dizzying speeds. People get frozen alive. Women fly around with swirling cloth in their wake. Men fly around chained to boulders. Eyebrows are used to contain evil. All I can say is...wow. Only Ching Siu Tung could come up w/ some as imaginative as this.As I mentioned earlier, there are some interesting themes involved. Tsui Hark seemed to make a statement against world leaders who start senseless wars and kill innocent people. Also, he talks about how battles become futile when people won't set aside their differences for a common cause. If we want to save the world or even ourselves, we all have to work together.Of interesting note is the International dubbed version. That version makes the film into a dream sequence and turns the war parable into a love story spanning many generations. A lot of scenes are cut and shortened, giving the Zu mountain segment a very rushed feel. Overall, the subtitled version is a lot more preferable.

moviefan-82 Frankly, I am confused that this movie has such a high rating from other users. I am a huge fan of Hong Kong period action/fantasy/swordplay movies, but I just couldn't get into this movie. I kept waiting for it to get better, but unfortunately, it just got worse! So much is said about the "ground breaking" special effects, but I felt like I was watching a Saturday morning cartoon. On paper, this movie should've been great. Produced by Tsui Hark, and an all-star cast... Too bad the plot was so silly/bad. I would definitely recommend the movie Deadful Melody (aka Deadly Melody) over this one. Better fight scenes, better humor, colorful-well-played characters, and a plot that makes sense.