It does seem that the quality of Hong Kong cinema has declined remarkably. I don't know what it is that during the days of Jet Li and Jackie Chan in the classic period I was able to follow the movie despite the sub titles, but with some of these later offerings I seem to simply get lost. Okay, this movie was easier to follow that some of the others that I have seen, but it seemed to be problematic at best, and did not really come to some decent ending.
What I did gather from this movie is that it is about a special forces group in Ancient China who are raised as Imperial guards from when they are children. It seems that one of the Emperor's seals are stolen and the head of the guards is tasked to try and return it. The guards are given 14 swords, each one of them having a special purpose in their task to maintain order throughout the empire. The last blade, the 14th blade, is specifically used to commit suicide in the event of a failure.
As mentioned, the movie was a little eclectic at the beginning, but it settled down a bit in the middle and it was easier to follow, though it still felt many of the scenes were simply thrown together simply for the purpose of having a scene with a lot of sword fighting and martial arts. Okay, that might have worked in some movies, but the earlier movies seemed to work, where as this one did not. Maybe it also has to do with the people doing the subtitles simply did not do a good job because not only do you have to read them, but you have to digest them as well. Still, I was able to watch Amelie with no problem despite not understanding a word of French.
What I did gather from this movie is that it is about a special forces group in Ancient China who are raised as Imperial guards from when they are children. It seems that one of the Emperor's seals are stolen and the head of the guards is tasked to try and return it. The guards are given 14 swords, each one of them having a special purpose in their task to maintain order throughout the empire. The last blade, the 14th blade, is specifically used to commit suicide in the event of a failure.
As mentioned, the movie was a little eclectic at the beginning, but it settled down a bit in the middle and it was easier to follow, though it still felt many of the scenes were simply thrown together simply for the purpose of having a scene with a lot of sword fighting and martial arts. Okay, that might have worked in some movies, but the earlier movies seemed to work, where as this one did not. Maybe it also has to do with the people doing the subtitles simply did not do a good job because not only do you have to read them, but you have to digest them as well. Still, I was able to watch Amelie with no problem despite not understanding a word of French.