THE TRAIL OF THE BROKEN BLADE is one of the early wuxia films made by director Chang Cheh for Shaw Brothers, and starring the one and only Jimmy Wang Yu as the upstanding hero of the piece. Unfortunately, like THE ASSASSIN, it's a film that I had a problem with because of the dearth of action; apart from a brief murder and bit of swordplay at the outset, all of the action is saved for the admittedly exciting climax. The rest of the film is all about plot, plot, plot, interspersed with some romance and some melodrama.
The viewer is able to sit back and enjoy the stunning sets and exemplary production values, as well as the appearance of many Shaw actors like Fan Mei Sheng, Wu Ma, Cheng Lei, and Tien Feng. However, this kind of plotting we've seen play out dozens of times in Shaw flicks, and it all feels a bit drawn out, a bit slow, a bit lacking. You just want Wang Yu to burn up the screen like he did in THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN films. It's still a fun watch, just no classic for me.
The viewer is able to sit back and enjoy the stunning sets and exemplary production values, as well as the appearance of many Shaw actors like Fan Mei Sheng, Wu Ma, Cheng Lei, and Tien Feng. However, this kind of plotting we've seen play out dozens of times in Shaw flicks, and it all feels a bit drawn out, a bit slow, a bit lacking. You just want Wang Yu to burn up the screen like he did in THE ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN films. It's still a fun watch, just no classic for me.