The movie opened up with Donnie Yen portraying a simple, normal, character accidentally killing three attackers. But then Takeshi Kaneshiro's character came in and deduced the murders from a martial arts master's point of view, opening up the possibilities of a more interesting, mysterious and sinister plot. Kaneshiro's character even had a psychological sub-plot. And I just loved how each of these were unfolded to the audience layer by layer in the first half.
However, the second half changed everything when Yen's character's background was revealed. And I totally disagreed with the direction of the storyline. The writers should have kept this as a psychological thriller instead of another action movie. Had they continued on with the initial direction, this could have ended up a brilliant movie with a dark twist. Even Kaneshiro's character's sub-plot that had so much potential was not fully explored. Instead the story went on a very routined route, albeit properly written.
Nevertheless, the action in the final act was brilliant. Starting from the fight scenes with Kara Hui from the streets to the ox pen, it really challenges you on how long you can hold your breath. And the intensity increased towards the end in the battle with the menacing chief of the 13 Demons, portrayed by the brilliant Jimmy Wang Yu. Not even the screen could have contained his energy of intimidation.
Tang Wei hasn't made many films ever since her breakout role in Lust, Caution. But her addition here had quality that was quietly powerful. But best acting I thought came from Kaneshiro. This role suited him perfectly. His little nuances expressed depth and magnificence, stealing every scene he was in even from the brilliance of Yen.
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