It's the start of the 8th century. The Chinese Tang dynasty is battling the Turk for the silk road occupied by Buddhist kingdoms. Lieutenant Li tries to release Turk women and children when he's ordered to execute them. He's forced to mutiny and escape. Later, the Tang emperor sends Sir Lai Xi to kill Li who is labeled as 'the butcher'. Lai Xi is Japanese forced to live in the Tang court since age 13. He is promised a passage home after killing Li. The two men fight but join forces to defend a Buddhist caravan. The caravan is carrying a powerful relic and the Turks are after it for control of the local Buddhist tribes. Lord Khan recruits ruthless local warlord Master An who is promised the Khan's daughter.This has good locations of the vast desert landscapes and local settings. The story is relatively simple but a little disjointed. The battles are part-realistic and part-unreal kung fu. There's some good action but also some confused action. This is a watchable action adventure with some good but also some deficiencies.

This is not a Kung Fu action movie, so those looking for fight scenes will be disappointed. It is a thrilling story of two warrior knights acting under their own sense of honor and called to action in circumstances beyond their control, against the backdrop of the turbulent and multi-cultural Silk Road. China being the vast country it is has birthed many such thrilling adventures of wandering warriors, itinerant mercenaries, Buddhist monks and pretty maidens. Think of romance or adventure novels based on the Middle Ages! The thrill of the story is to watch the two warriors meeting, one supposedly as the imperial agent sent to eliminate the renegade and intent on his mission, the other as the free agent warrior trying to live a life according to his own personal code of honor. When the two of them unite to fight hordes of greedy bandits, we see hand to hand combat, pursuits on horseback and sieges of a fort.The unusual angles in this movie, for most movie goers, comes from the time and place: the warriors are from 700 A.D, a T'ang Dynasty era. The location is in the far western reaches of China and the locales are not traditionally "Chinese". The landscapes change from mountainous to woodsy to desert. There are thrilling scenes of camel caravans and desert towns and forts. The protagonists wear battle gear and the long hair of that period, which remind me vividly of French and English knights and crusaders of that era! The final siege of the desert fort reminds of the male warrior bonding in desperado scenes like in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"; or the "Alamo"; or the "Three Musketeers".The Buddhist relic transported by the caravan reminds me of the Catholic relics from dead saints found in many mystery or adventure stories based on the Middle Ages. The finale reminds me of the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when the bad guys seem to be on the edge of acquiring the treasure, only to be annihilated, leaving some of the good guys to move on...It is great entertainment and gives one yet another view of the Chinese culture about warriors of its complex past.

Before reviewing the film, I must point out that although I love Asian films, I generally dislike films like CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON and THE EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN. That's because special effects take center stage and they are, in my opinion, completely ridiculous and over-the-top. They are so unbelievable that it ruins the pictures for me. Now I know MANY like these films, so I know this statement isn't going to be too popular. But, to me there is a big difference between "suspension of belief" and "suspension of common sense and the laws of physics".That is why I really liked this film so much. While it does use some of the amazing stunt-work like the other two films, it does not use stunt-work to replace the plot AND the stunts are much more sedate in manner. Yes, they are a little far-fetched but not nearly to the same level.Instead, the true stars of the movie are the locations, camera work, acting and script. And, the overall package is great. How the movie has achieved a ranking of about 6.5 on IMDb is beyond me, as it is perhaps the best Chinese epic film I have ever seen.

Read at your own risk. Don't waste your good money watching it. This movie just reaffirmed my decision not to watch Hero. I had the chance and figured it would be Americanized with implausible plots. One of the aspect I enjoyed was the cinematography. In one scene, the camera looked up at Lieutenant Li reminiscent of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. Parts of the sound track was enjoyable, more so if father dearest didn't open his mouth and buries the good dialogue way way below the obnoxiously loud music. Dear Ping He, please watch either volume of Kill Bill and learn how to mix soundtracks. Finally about the second viewing, my ears adjusted and picked up the words. I suppose the slightly jarring music was a foreshadowing of the sloppy weaving of the story leaving gaping holes where the audience is left to fill them in. For example, what is the Japanese doing at the military post? what was the relationship between Japan and Tang Dynasty? Wen Zhu (played by beloved formerly saucy Huan Zhu Ge Ge) didn't receive a decent chance to break out of the pretty girl mold. Instead, poor dear was reduced to narrate the obvious like when they were sneaking of the Big Steed Post (their translation, not mine), "Lai Qi spotted them heading for Red Rock Gorge. He didn't want the bandit steal the caravan, nor does he want Li killed until they reach the capital." (not word for word) This is only slightly less painful than Legolas stating "those are orc horns." Bah!I can't say that I know the costume from Tang Dynasty but the helmets look suspiciously like shiny plastic. I could be wrong. I could also be wrong but half way through the movie, there were more camels than they started with. The key parts of the journey cuts through the desert. If they were true desert people, even with wells, Master An would not give water/spit at Lai Qi, nor would the girl take a luxurious bath. And what is with the mysticism of the pagoda? If the plot is believable and characters true to their environment, anything valuable could replace the pagoda. Anyone who thinks this is good need to watch Chinese television series Yang Jia Jang about the rise and fall of a family of warriors serving their emperor. Or San Quo Yang Ye/Tale of Three Kingdoms.