waitandhope I watched this recently and had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be a fairly good film with some confusing twists. Not everything made sense to me but I found it entertaining at least. Many events taking place feel forced into importance, meaning very little to me since I don't have any historical perspective on this era. Overall it's worth watching once but wow the ending wasn't what I'd expected.

lyx-1 First, this isn't a typical wirefu flick with a simplistic plot that centers around the theme of vengeance or political intrigues involving evil eunuchs.It is about honour, reputation of the martial arts schools, the social and changing political climate of early century China. There aren't really good or evil parties, there is tradition and resignation towards the impending militarization of China, the real emerging power at work.The film is thus alternately more realistic in the absence of the usual outlandish plot line and yet still not quite believable in those "1 vs 100" fight scenes that are typical of this genre, though the gore and death count are respectfully, authentically low. The fighting is filmed without wires, CGI or camera gimmicks, they aren't as stunning as a Yuen Woo Ping choreographed sequence, but I enjoyed the more realistic style of fighting throughout. Authentic details such as how judges mark the pugilists in competitions in the old days are also eye-opening and much appreciated for the knowledge aspect.I gave it a higher rating because of the wry humour, cryptic dialogue that reveals more complex persona and histories behind the characters. The sparse "Northern" way of filming is more abstract and evocative. I hope the English subtitles do not confuse or disappoint as the narrative is interesting .

Ron Hall I'd like to bring to your attention a movie that I have recently had the pleasure of seeing that I'm sure will excite any fan of the martial arts movie genre..The film is called " The Final Master" by writer/director Xu Haofeng, which I believe is a classic and transitive martial arts film that will,if built upon, move the martial arts genre to another level. For the martial arts fight fan the film is filled with inventive and skillfully conceived martial arts action sequences that will excite, surprise and amaze you and for the average moviegoer presents the martial arts film aesthetic within a captivating story with powerful dramatic conflict and fascinating characters.that offers a great time at the movies that anyone can relate to.Comparisons will be made to movies like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon , Hero and Ip Man but I believe it is superior to them all in the way it honors the martial arts movie genre while at the same time transcending it.Its foundation is a genre trope that fans know all too well. A martial arts master travels to a foreign city to make a name for himself and his style. While most martial films would stop at this point the writer/director Haofeng ventures much deeper to construct a multi layered tapestry of trust, loyalty, love, betrayal and personal struggle that vacillates between a delicate touch and a hammering iron fist. This range of conflict is what distinguishes it and gives this film its impact.What I enjoy most about this film is how the director does an excellent job of blending dramatic conflict and martial arts action.so that every fight in the film is essential in propelling the story forward and sets the stage for escalating dramatic conflict that makes the fighting pay off in emotionally powerful ways.. And this does not take away from the spectacular action is that is on display here as the fight choreographers did a tremendous job of juxtaposing spectacular and complicated fight sequences with a seemingly true to life realism that elevates it above most martial arts exploitation fare. This is less a martial arts movie per se and more of a dramatic story with some of the most powerfully executed realistic looking martial arts you have ever seen on film, its subtle power is truly breathtaking..Oh yes .. I forgot to mention that most of the fights are done in close quarter with razor sharp blades.Martial arts movies are oftentimes, and deservedly so, relegated to second class cinema, but with a compelling dramatic story and dynamic fight sequences blended together to form an organically entertaining cohesive whole, it is movies like " The Final Master" that will demonstrate why fans of the genre love these movies and why it is that films of this caliber that will keep the genre alive and growing for many years to come. The Final Master is a significant milestone in the evolution of martial arts cinema.

subxerogravity I went into this motion picture expecting more of a Kung Fu extravaganza (although the last showdown in the film was pretty bad ass). When the movie opens and the lead actor explains that he is a Wing Chun master I was totally expecting a rip off of Ip man, but with swords instead of fist. Though the movie showcases that screeching sound two swords make during signature Wing Chun blade fights this movie does not hold a candle to the Ip Man Franchise.Like Ip Man, it's both a drama and an action flick, but to both genres I felt Ip Man was far more compelling. As this movie try to do both it became unbalanced trying to sustain it. I found the drama too dry and weak to want to pay attention to it. I thought the wing Chun was just OK due to fast cuts that make it seem like the movie had no one in it who was a master of the style. In fact the whole movie seem to be cut together at a pace that makes neither genre work well for me.I did appreciate some scenes where it looked like the camera shot was paying homage to old school Kung Fu flicks and the art direction does really take you back to the 1920s, but honestly this movie moved too slow and had too much to take in to really entertain.