Swordsman II

A further collaboration between the director of A Chinese Ghost Story and producer Tsui Hark, Swordsman II resembles a super-hero comic book brought to life. Set in a mythical past at a time of internecine power struggles within competing clans and sects, the film finds Ling and his siblings taking a stand against the ruthless ‘Master Asia’, who has sacrificed his manhood to attain magical powers, and who anonymously flirts with Ling as a woman. A playful attitude to sexuality permeates the movie; more to the point, however, are countless spectacularly realised supernatural confrontations which would have Albert Einstein’s head spinning. Camp it may be, and messy, but mundane it ain’t.