Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

Made by one of the acknowledged masters of stylized swordplay thrillers, Tsui Hark's Flying Swords of Dragon Gate is actually the director's second remake of King Hu's 1967 martial-arts classic Dragon Gate Inn (Tsui produced the 1992 remake New Dragon Gate Inn). It's also the first Chinese film shot in the stereoscopic IMAX 3D format (the Blu-ray release includes both 3D and 2D versions). Although it received a limited theatrical release in the U.S., the film—not surprisingly—failed to catch on at the box office: unlike such global hits as Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and the landmark Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this wanna-be wuxia classic becomes mired down in personal and political clashes between thinly-drawn characters who fail to make much dramatic impression. Global action superstar Jet Li is top-billed as a Ming Dynasty freedom fighter (but he spends most of the film off-screen) in this convoluted tale that focuses on the Dragon Inn, located in a remote desert where a confusing thicket of characters are hoping that hidden treasure will be revealed during a sandstorm that occurs only once every 60 years. In a narrative sense, none of this is very involving, but the film's abundant action scenes are impressive—combining traditional wire-work stunts with all-digital characters who defy gravity as they leap, fly, float, and spin in mid-air. It's too bad there isn't a better story to match the film's extravagant production values. An optional purchase. (J. Shannon)