Unsolicited Reviews

The House of Flying Daggers

From the same director¹ as Hero, this martial arts picture is much more than that: tragic love story, high adventure, intrigue, rebels-vs-government and period drama. Hero (as previously reviewed) may be more sumptuously costumed and staged, but Flying Daggers is its superior in almost every other way. The only missing element is the inimitable Jet Lee, star of Hero.

The House of Flying Daggers is a rebel group opposing the ruling powers and attempting to overthrow the government. When a government agent is assigned an undercover mission to escort the daughter of the Flying Daggers leader back to the group, he encounters multiple deceptions and challenges, not the least of which is the girl herself—an accomplished martial artist who is blind. The stuff of legends!

I was far more engaged and interested by this than many a martial arts film I’ve lately seen. Yes, there’s wire-work and CGI but it’s well integrated into the whole, so it doesn’t interrupt the story flow by saying, “Hey! Look at the clever stuff we’ve done!” And the strength of the story really carries the whole experience through.

I saw it at home but it’s probably best experienced on the big screen.

¹ Yimou Zhang, well known and highly respected respected giant of Chinese cinema.

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