Or in other words, neither action movie, nor romantic comedy/drama! And don't get fooled by Donnie Yens name in the cast list. Yes he has his action scenes, but don't watch this movie, expecting him to be the lead role. He shares that with another actor. Of course the main spot/role is reserved for a woman.Everything revolves around her (the Empress) and the movie starts off pretty good ... until it breaks up after the first act of the movie. The nice pace from the beginning is gone and we are treated to a sort of short-movie-in-the-movie. The sudden change doesn't feel right and it doesn't fit into the rest of the movie too. It's indecisiveness which genre it belongs to and a few other flaws really brings the movie down.

This is one of those movies that you can tell is trying to be good but ends up being mediocre. There is a love story that is way out of place during a war between the Yan and the Zhao, a love triangle between Donnie Yen, and an ambitious Nephew who will seem to do anything to take over the throne. All of these stories could be well off on their own, but the director doesn't explore either to a satisfaction. Martial arts fans will see a duel between Leon Lai and Donnie Yen, but it feels like it was just placed there just for the sake of having them fight each other. There is good stuff here, but it is rushed and clichéd to the point where it feels like you are buying one of those TV drama DVD sets.

i gave this movie 2 thumbs up. definitely an excellent movie, not considered romantic, but rather heroic, loyalty and teaches golden values in life. Donnie Yen is an excellent martial artist. i always have respect for him. it's always a pleasure to see him playing as a good man in movies. he deserves recognition in the States. i got tired of watching Jet Li & Jackie Chan all the time. no offense, but they are very very fun to watch, too. Kelly Chen is adorable, a quiet but strong character. and of course, it's good to see Leon Lai. no matter what other negative commentators, this movie is waaaay better than those of US' crappy scary movies such as: chainsaw, haloween, chucky, etc that has no points but repeating the same thing over and over again.

This movie was quite excellent and touched my heart. Fei Yang, the selfless young dame from Chinese royalty leaves her life of splendor just to meet her "prince". That, to me, is interesting and also romantic. Perhaps it was a stupid thing to do. As a Chinese, I certainly know how difficult it is for people in my culture to throw away their wealth just to be with someone that doesn't have anything other than their skills as an artisan. For all the Chinese people that I have met in life, wealth is their number one priority. It is touching to see a story where the characters yearn to live beyond the superficial. The story is actually a tragedy because at the end, Fei Yang must endure her life alone. All people that she loved, including here prince are killed in the war. This one made me cry.