I
suppose the major defining factor of this film is its dragging of the
fly-by-wire sword-and-sorcery Hong Kong film into the modern Hollywood FX's
digital domain. And from a purely visual point-of-view, this kicks ass,
occupying the middle ground between film, its comic book source, and a
really cool video game. Unfortunately, it seems to rely on the audience
being totally familiar with the comic, and to anyone else, the results are
largely incomprehensible. I won't spoil the plot by revealing it, but
that's mostly because...I can't. My first two attempts to get through this
ended in confusion and boredom -- looking at the rest of Andrew Lau's
filmography, there is indeed an excess of substance over style; however,
this one doesn't so much as take the biscuit, as scoff the entire packet
then go hunting in the cupboard for more. It's the sort of film that would
make a great party tape, but the great lumps of plot sit uneasily with the
ultra-visuals, and may be liable to leave the viewer feeling in need of
some Rennies and a lie-down in a quiet room.
D-