Legend has it, Hollywood wanted to bring this movie (which was huge in China) to America for a long time, but they wanted to cut out about a third that they felt would be confusing to American audiences. Meanwhile, American fans have been buying bootleg and import DVD's for the past two years since it came out.

The only way they would agree to show the movie in it's entirety is if Quentin Tarrantino allowed his name to be attached to it. Thank you Quentin. Unfortunately, due to the billing and the commercials, this movie looks like a pure action movie. "One man will stand against an Empire," I believe is what the commercials tell us.

If you saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long), this movie is sort of in the same vein. While the fight scenes are beautifully choreographed, and visually beautiful, the focus isn't on the fighting, but on the characters and on the story. Whenever characters do fight, it always serves to move the story forward.

Jet Li (Kiss of the Dragon, The One, Romeo Must Die, Lethal Weapon 4) took a pay cut to be in this movie, and it's easy to see why. The story is superb, and visually it's stunning. I don't want to talk too much about the story, but I'll tell you that ... while it's political, it remains always deeply personal.

The beautiful Ziyi Zhang (who was one of the main characters in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) plays a much diminished role in this movie. The main characters are "Nameless" played by Jet Li, "Broken Sword" played by Tony Leung Chiu Wai (who is also in Internal Affair, which looks good), Flying Snow, played by Maggie Cheung, and the Emperor of Qin, played by Daoming Chen.

Interestingly, Quentin Tarrantino's name isn't completely wasted on this movie. This movie is told through a series of flashbacks, starting at the end and working it's way through time to get back to the present moment... Not unlike many Tarrantino movies. at the end there's also something that could be considered to be a Mexican Standoff, though it's more intellectual and emotional than physical.

If you can see this movie in the theaters, I suggest you do. Visually, it's a treat like nothing being produced by the Hollywood system. The use of color is much more daring than a western director would ever attempt. The amount of detail as well is gorgeous. Flying arrows, leaves being kicked up by the wind created by a sword fight, and the beautiful landscapes, many of which are the same as those that were used in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I hear that this land is actually being inhabited now, and there are houses where there was once just beautiful, pristine desert. It's a pity, but at least we get a visual document of them before they disappear.

If you came here because you knew of this movie and wanted to see what I had to say about it, I highly recommend it. If you didn't know about this movie and just stumbled on this page, I suggest you try to find a theater that's still playing it, or wait until November for the DVD.

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