Li Xun Huan, the sick gentleman of jianghu, the martial arts world, returns with yet another adventure full of intrigue and bloodshed. Widely claimed as the 100th film directed by Chor Yuen, this straight continuation of “The Sentimental Swordsman” (1977) with most of the original cast returning though some playing different roles, did even better at the box office than its predecessor.
After defeating the “Plum Blossom Bandit”, wine loving Li Xun Huan, Flying Dagger Xiao Li (Ti Lung) and his only friend Ah Fei (Derek Yee) went their separate ways as they tried to settle down in seclusion. But his peaceful life lasted only three years, due to an official martial world “Best Weapons and Fighters” list which ranks him at number three. Challengers are keen to dethrone him especially the leader of the ruthless Money Clan, Shang Kuan Jin Hong (Ku Feng) and his equally fearsome adopted son Jing Wu Ming (Alexander Fu Sheng). Forced to roam the martial world again, Li must now seek help from his royal ally Ah Fei.
The plot thickens as we discover what Fei is up to. As it turns out, he is now happily living with a beautiful woman Lin Xian Er (Candice Yu), an insidious and calculating evil person that he fails to notice since he is so spellbound by her and has lost focus in life. As if Li hasn't got enough on his plate, he now has to save his estranged friend plus on top of that, fend off enemies from all sides. Adapted from the novel “The Sentimental Swordsman and the Ruthless Sword” written by the prolific Gu Lung, this is where the film gets even more intriguing.
Seasoned viewers of Chor Yuen's wuxia will find familiarity in the execution of this production, like the way he introduces his characters and the action sequences in between, right down to the rich character driven story which gets better as it goes on to further explore the way of the martial world. Furthermore, the fantastic cast sure helps to move the plot up a notch and besides, the amazingly detailed sets created to mimic beautiful sunsets and other notable atmospheric effects through special use of lighting are impressive to watch. Interestingly, whenever Li meets up with his cousin Lin, the snowy setting makes their reunion seem cold and sad. The pretty cherry blossom nonetheless, is always present throughout the whole film.
By this stage and nursing a bad cough, Xiao Li has become a lonely character without friends or a lover, and he roams and lives alone but finds happiness and comfort in his wine. However, gifted with a good nature and great kung fu skills he makes a rather unique character in the martial world. Ti Lung has no trouble portraying him as the tormented human by displaying a great range of emotion through his amazing acting abilities. Derek Yee is equally good as the tortured swordsman and both of them easily take the film to another level with their emotional performances. The normally cheeky Alexander Fu Sheng turns up as Jing Wu Ming, nicknamed Left-handed Sacred Sword, the solemn top henchman of the Money Clan and wields an interesting short sword with a saw edge. Since he has to use his left hand to fight, his maneuver seems labored and clanky, but thankfully he switches back to using his right hand during the final fight.
As usual, the prolific Ku Feng is right at home playing the manipulative leader of the Money Clan who uses a pair of odd weapons, the “Dragon Phoenix Rings” which look like oversized traditional Chinese coins. In addition, the rest of the supporting team is just as amazing. Shaw beauty Ching Li returns as Li's cousin Lin Shi Yin, interestingly she played the more cunning Xian Er in the previous film while this time around that role goes to Candice Yu. Yueh Hua who played the Plum Blossom Bandit before now has a brief role as swordsman Guo Song Yang. All this switching of actors playing different characters can be confusing for casual views indeed. Naturally, Lo Lieh excels in portraying Hu Bu Gui, a human trafficker who delivers dead bodies and a goofy but utterly charming character . Elsewhere, Yuen Wah turns up as Green Faced Spear, Xi Men Rou and then there is Kara Hui in a too brief appearance.
Visually beautiful to behold thanks to the highly detailed Shaw's famous backdrops plus equally well designed fight sequences by Tang Chia, this wuxia adventure from Chor Yu is another winner. Although the plot is still intriguing, the storytelling is less dense and more straightforward and emotional. Of course the inclusion of those rich and colorful characters and the interesting weapons they put on display also help to make this an highly entertaining production overall.
