Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good, make sure to watch the first Swordsman
Review: This movie is crazy. Lots of stringwork and crazy fighting and blood. I liked it except for the fact the subtitles didnt translate well. I had to watch it a couple of times to figure out what was going on (I didnt watch the first one).
Rating: 
Summary: They ruined a beautiful film
Review: The new subtitles are huge, ugly and wrong. The VHS version was much better. An example of the changes is that the antagonist, Asia the Invincible, is now called Dawn. The new subtitles make the movie stupid. I highly reccomend this film in VHS but cannot reccomend the DVD version. Save your VHS players for this one or wait until Tai Seng gets it right.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome sword play. Jet Li needs to play a Jedi.
Review: Although there was a lot of string work, it was used pretty well in this movie. The sword play in this movie was awesome. As always, Jet Li shows a strong presence on screen. George Lucas should watch this film and consider him to be a Jedi.
Rating:
Summary: Good MOVIE, average Martial Arts Film
Review: I really liked this film. It was very entertaining, had a solid story (that was hard to follow at times), but still very interesting. The characters were great, each and everyone. Brigitte Linn was badly under utilized, using Magic over her martial arts skills, that was disappointing.Actually, think back, Jet Li was the only character in the whole film that used martial arts, everyone else used magic. Jet Li's acting was extremely fun to watch. The interaction between him and his sister was great (though she was awful jealous for a sister). As a whole this movie is a joy to watch, the story and plot are great. But don't buy this movie thinking you are going to see a Kung Fu movie, or skilled martial arts, because you won't. As a movie I would give Swordsman II a B+
As a martial arts film I would give Swordsman II a C-
Rating:
Summary: Must-Buy
Review: First of all, the movie. I started watching HK movies just a little under a year ago, and mostly because I was very impressed with Jet Li's performance in "Lethal Weapon 4" and "Black Mask," and thus wanted to see some of his earlier work. A year later, I have now watched over 80 HK movies since (all movies by Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, as well as by those lesser-known (at least in the US) Brigitte Lin, Ekin Cheng, Aaron Kwok, etc.), and it was all because of this movie. Looking back, this movie was a terrific introduction to the HK swordfighting, fantasy genre. The fight scenes are spectacular and the cast is first rate (Brigitte Lin steals the show, though). The DVD? Yes, the subtitles are bad, but not distracting, and after a couple of viewings I followed the story easily (I absolutely HATE those VHS subtitles which are nearly impossible to read, especially against a white background). Plus, Director Tsui Hark's wonderful use of colors (contrasting blues, reds, yellows) can only be done justice by the DVD format. The sound is in Dolby 5.1, which helps, and the transfer is pretty good. The menus are also presented nicely, better than any other HK DVD made around the same time. Although this was the first HK DVD I purchased, it is still my favorite. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Swordsman II and Swordsman I together
Review: Junior/Kiddo is Ling/Fox/Seniors "sister" only in the sense that the other students of the Wah mountain master are his "brothers". She is actually the daughter of the dead master of the school and has a much more compelling failed romance in the first episode of the series. Swordsmen II is more about gender roles with Asia/Dawn being torn between genders and Junior/kiddo trying to figure our how to deal with her adult femininity after growing up as a tomboy. This is one of many good reasons to track down the original Swordsman so that you can figure out just what all is happening in the movie.
The very bad, sometimes mistyped and sometimes missing, subtitles are perhaps preferable to the dubbing, but how much so depends on the viewer's patience.
Both of the first two installments are worth watching, the 3rd installment is more of a spin-off on Brigitte Lin's fame than a continuation of the story of Ling and Kiddo.
Rating:
Summary: A clarification =)
Review: This movie is one of my all time favorites in fantasy martial arts films. While the story may seem strange at first it is handled surprising well and becomes very absorbing. Brigitte Lin IS Asia, her acting is superb. Jet li is very charming in his role and showcases his rarely seen comical talents. One reviewer was confused about Michelle Reis's crush on her "brother", so for clarification in this movie she is called Jet li's "sister" but they are not actually related. They study under the same martial arts master and therefor become adoptive brother/sister because they share the same master. Hope that makes things more clear. I recommend this film to anyone who's open minded to a fantastic adventure with action, awesome villian, laughs and love.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic film, but wait for a more competent DVD release...
Review: Swordsman II is arguably one of the greatest films of its genre, but this DVD release is fatally humstrung by ludicrously poorly translated English subtitles. Despite this being one of my all time favorite films I didn't even make it through to the end of this DVD; much of the "translated" dialogue makes no sense at all, and as a result the film loses much of its character. What's strange is that the earlier laserdisc release featured a highly effective and at times even lyrical translation. Couldn't they simply have copied the previous subtitles into the new format rather than having someone with third-grade English (at best) retranslate the whole film? My advice: keep this movie in mind, but wait for a more competent presentation.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie but boycott Disney/Miramax/Buena Vista...
Review: DO NOT BUY "Legend of the Swordsman" by Buena Vista. This is an edited and English dubbed version butchered by this studio. Buy ONLY the original HK version "Swordsman II."
I'm going to pass on some valuable info to my fellow Hong Kong movie buffs. Do yourselves a favor and visit www.Goodwillco.com - they are a terrific Canadian distributor of original HK version dvds. "Dream Lovers" is only about $7-$8 USD. Most of their HK titles fall within this price range. "Hero" now at theatres starring Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung is also available for this price. Their service is outstanding. You can pretty much find any title with original Chinese audio and English subtitles.
Don't buy any American studio dubbed or edited versions!!! Always read the packaging carefully - don't judge by it's cover. Boycott Disney and their subsidiaries such as Miramax/Dimension films and Buena Vista until they SHOW RESPECT for Asian cinema. Don't throw your hard earned money away and allow studios to treat YOU THE MOVIE FAN with disrespect! They are buying HK catalog titles and butchering by editing and English dubbing. They edit and dub because they wrongly believe American audiences will be less accepting of viewing HK films with original Chinese audio and English subtitles. Talk about racism and insulting the intelligence of American movie-goers!!! Disney is also purchasing HK titles to keep in storage without release. By doing so, Disney can keep the original HK studios from releasing these titles and have a monopoly on the catalog. Fans are left unable to own their favorite HK films. These studios do not care about art or movie fans by their disrespectful treatment of the original versions...all they care about is MONEY! Talk about DisNazi tactics! If Sony Pictures can release "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" with Chinese audio and English subtitles both at movie theatres and DVD, then why can these studios not do the same?? "Crouching Tiger" grossed over $125 million alone at the box office. But Disney still thinks American movie-goers are narrow-minded and ignorant. And Disney probably thought their release "Freddy Got Fingered" was the highest expression of the movie art form. The studios know that DVD is a top money grossing format and can save any box office bomb from total annihilation. Miramax is making minor improvement - they did release "Iron Monkey" in original audio and subtitled. However, they could not keep their hands from EDITING this great film. They thought it was too long! I believe fans deserve to see the uncut original version regardless of length. Did we not sit through 3 hrs of "Titanic" and almost 4 hrs of "Dancing with Wolves?" both box office blockbusters. So why the double standard with HK films?
Visit the WEB ALLIANCE FOR THE RESPECTFUL TREATMENT OF ASIAN CINEMA to sign the petition to Miramax. Read all about our mission. I gave you a summary of what is happening to the HK movie catalog. Over 13,000 signatures have been collected. We need all fans to help save the original HK studio versions and preserve our rights as fans to see the original cut as intended by the filmmaker.
Rating:
Summary: Good MOVIE, average Martial Arts Film
Review: I really liked this film. It was very entertaining, had a solid story (that was hard to follow at times), but still very interesting. The characters were great, each and everyone. Brigitte Linn was badly under utilized, using Magic over her martial arts skills, that was disappointing. Actually, think back, Jet Li was the only character in the whole film that used martial arts, everyone else used magic. Jet Li's acting was extremely fun to watch. The interaction between him and his sister was great (though she was awful jealous for a sister). As a whole this movie is a joy to watch, the story and plot are great. But don't buy this movie thinking you are going to see a Kung Fu movie, or skilled martial arts, because you won't. As a movie I would give Swordsman II a B+
As a martial arts film I would give Swordsman II a C-
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