Director: Yuen Woo-ping
Year: 2026
Country: China
Alternate Titles: Biao ren
Genre: Action/Period
Plot:
Set on a lawless desert frontier, the film follows Dao Ma, the second most wanted fugitive, who is entrusted by his benefactor, the chief of the Mo family clan, with escorting a mysterious prisoner to Chang'an, only to discover that his charge is the empire’s most wanted man. What begins as a routine mission escalates into a relentless pursuit, unfolding as a large-scale road movie shaped by grounded, physical combat and classical martial arts storytelling.
Review:
Overall, this was a rather fun if somewhat problematic genre effort. Among the better factors here involving the quest to recapture the fabled bounty hunter as a means of ensuring the various clans are on the lookout to take him down so they can cement their rule over the kingdom. The different characters involved in the storyline are about the different clans coming together to search for the one member who will betray them, and setting off to protect their friends, hoping to engage in the treachery so that they can ensure power for themselves by taking control of the kingdom and its resources. This allows the work to work incredibly well as an excuse for an extended series of elongated battles featuring the characters running and jumping around, wielding swords or other similar weapons to engage in battle, getting into all sorts of exciting interactions with flying wuxia-styled martial arts displays that are immensely fun and likable.
There are a few drawbacks here that hold it down. The idea of this one focusing on the kind of clan wars at the center of this one creates a wholly confusing setup with way too many characters for its own good. The massive, sprawling story creates a slew of extra characters that aren’t necessary here, from random Army leaders to rogues looking for their cut of the bounty to the various dealings with outsiders trying to ensure that the political machinations of their involvement suit their end, and it creates a series of complex setups that aren’t all that necessary. This manages to leave the film without a defining main character to follow with a motivation in the outcome, all leaving the film with a series of cliches to have to tie everything together in a somewhat coherent fashion involving so many leads which all serve well enough as a means of keeping the film moving along at the cost of making sure everything makes sense which keeps it down slightly.
Overview: ****/5
An immensely effective and enjoyable martial arts action film, that this one gets the important elements right and is slightly hampered by some slight drawbacks, making it quite likable overall. Those with an appreciation for this style or who are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
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