Second from top left is famous and award-winning action choreography director, Liu Chia-Liang. Third from left, is one of the Canto-pop Four Heavenly Kings, Leon Lai. Center stands "Ip Man", international action star, Donnie Yen. Second from right, is retired and returned, actress and singer Charlie Yeung.
Film Name : 七剑 / Seven Swords Directed by : Tsui Hark (徐克) Produced by : Tsui Hark (徐克) Starring : Donnie Yen, Leon Lai & Charlie Yeung (甄子丹, 黎明 & 楊采妮) Other cast includes : Zhang Jingchu (张静初) Running Time : 153 minutes Plot : In the mid-1600s, the Manchurians have taken over sovereignty of China and established the Qing Dynasty. While nationalistic sentiments start brewing within the martial artists' community (Jianghu), the Qing government immediately imposes a "Martial Arts Ban" (禁武令), forbidding the common people to practice martial arts. This is a means of maintaining law and order, as well as provide the Qing government with sufficient reason to put down any potential rebellion by nationalist martial artists. Fire-Wind, a military officer who formerly served the fallen Ming Dynasty, sees the new law as an opportunity for himself to make fortune by assisting the government in executing the law. Greedy, cruel and immoral, Fire-Wind ravages northwest China, killing thousands of martial artists as well as innocent civilians with his army. His next goal is to attack the final frontier Martial Village (武莊), which, as its name suggests, is a home to a number of martial artists.
Fu Qingzhu (Liu Chia-Liang), a retired executioner who served the previous dynasty, feels the urge to stop Fire-Wind's brutality and he sets forth to save the village from the incoming Qing forces. He brings Han Zhibang and Wu Yuanying (Charlie Yeung) from the village with him to Mount Heaven (天山) to seek help from the hermit Master Shadow-Glow, a master swordsmith and martial artist. Shadow-Glow agrees to help and sends his four disciples Chu Zhaonan (Donnie Yen), Yang Yuncong (Leon Lai), Xin Longzi and Mu Lang to follow Fu and the two villagers on their quest. He also gives the seven of them each a special sword he forged and the seven title themselves the "Seven Swords" (七剑).
As they lead the entire village to the road of a safer place, they begin to encounter mysterious confusion. Food and water is poisoned, and trails of escape are marked with signs leading the enemy to them. They soon realize that there is an undercover spy, and the Seven Swords must identify him before Wind Fire's army gets to them. Between this narrow gap of life and death, the situation is further complicated by the blossoms of love.
Trailer :
Review: After the movie, when I was preparing my review, then did I know that Wu Yuanying was starred by Charlie Yeung. Charlie Yeung made her first film debut in one of the first movies I had watched when I was a kid; 超级街头霸王 / Future Cops (1993 Film) I'll blog on that film some other time.. As for Leon Lai, I think this is how he got his appearance in 十月围城 / Bodyguards and Assassins (2010 Film) - the look of a beggar which resembles a scholar as he can be seen with a fan in this film too. Oh yes, Zhang Jingchu appeared in this movie too, and after watching this movie just today, I found out that Zhang Jingchu always take part intimate scenes, some even erotic. Anyway, I find her super hot. And yes, according to some sayings, she may just overtake Zhang Ziyi one day, turning into an international actress, as she studied English in Beijing New Oriental Institute and is fluent in the language, as compared to Zhang Ziyi, who is still trying her very best to master it. In my next 3 movie reviews -Triple Tap, City Under Siege and Aftershocks, Zhang Jingchu starred in the latter 2 and as the main lead in the latter. Just wait for this rising beauty to be a star one day.
