Flying Swords of Dragon Gate rekindles Tsui Hark’s partnership with Jet Li. In a modern remake of a quintessentially wuxia (æ¦ä¿ ) classic, the Chinese flick embodies the essential elements of its genre: grandiloquent high-flying action, mystery, and romance all tied together with a hint of periodic Chinese history.
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate is set during the Ming Dynasty period as the Emperor’s eunuchs are gaining ground in power and notoriety. So much so, in fact, that two wings are established: The East Wings, more traditionalist & served by older-ranking members, and the West Wing, newer, younger, more cut throat, and serving without much oversight.
Review: Tsui Hark’s Flying Swords of Dragon Gate Starring Jet Li Is a Worthy Addition To the Jinaghu In Wuxia Flicks
As stated by Chen Kun (Yu Huatian) of the West Wing during an early confrontation between the Wings’ leaders, the West Wing is there to clean up the mess of the East wing. That was the signal that the story would follow Yu Huatian as the main villain in the story.
To kickstart the plot in motion, the Emperor’s chief concubine is tells Yu to rid the palace of any concubines getting pregnant, besides her. Yu having killed 3 pregnant concubines already, who were not even pregnant by the Emperor, goes on the hunt for the 4th, to alleviate the palace from any possible misinformation.
As Yu sets out on a journey to find the missing concubine, Zhao Huai’an is already on the move. Somewhat of a typical wuxia flick hero/superhero, Zhao fights the fight for the poor, defenceless people.
His motive is to rid society of bad government officials, in the hopes that they would get replaced with better ones. Yeah, it’s idealistic, simplistic, and most definitely short-sighted. But Zhao believes that good eventually trumps all, and he and his band of followers just have to do their part to help it along. It’s a somewhat commonplace plot, but it works reasonably well.
As fate would have it, before Zhao can intercept the missing concubine from getting killed by Chen and having her baby ripped out, Ling Yanqiu (Zhou Xun) swoops in for the save from right under Zhao’s nose.
What ensues is a trip to Dragon Gate by all parties involved. Ling to get her protege across the border into safety, Zhao to provide backup just in case, and Chen on a mission of seek and destroy.
What’s interesting about the movie is that you can probably chop up the slightly over 2 hours flick into multiple sub-stories.
The first part, described above, the second part, which is the acquaintance of Dragon Gate and the introduction of different ragtag bands all finding themselves at that same spot at that same moment in time, and the third part, which is the real evolution of the different angles, all diverging to one same spot. Sounds simple enough but the movie could easily be watched in 2 or 3 parts and be just as enjoyable.
In terms of the Wuxia elements, we can say that the romance part derives from the proganist, Zhao Huai’an  ‘s (Jet Li) connection to Ling Yanqiu (Zhou Xun). At first cloaked in mystery, the connection between the two gets unveiled as the story progresses, and it all revolves around a flute that Zhao had given to Ling some years orior which she was trying to return to him.
Much more platonic than strictly romantic, the relationship between the two protagonists is more akin to that of a deep bond between two like-minded warriors.
That should come as no surprise, as this emotional rigidity is a hallmark of Wuxia flicks: the things most important in life never get quite fully consummated on screen, instead opting to be left to the imagination. The moral of the story is also often one of strength of character, where doing the right thing is an act of altruistic self-negation. grandiloquent magniloquent
The grandiloquent high-flying action is on point and as expected. Flyings Swords of Dragon Gate is a remake of both Dragon Gate Inn (1966) and New Dragon Gate Inn (1992), although it takes place 3 years later.
Although the action is as expected, because the flick was filmed in 3d, it will at times look a little weak or “off” when not viewed in its intended format (I watched it in HD). The CGI and general effects get a passing grade, but we’re not looking at anything ground-breaking: merely good enough to get story moving from point A to point B.
Tsui Hark and Jet Li teamed up on the 1992 flick, so they are both well acquainted with the story. The reason for the remake can probably be attributed to Hark’s desire to re-create a 3d flick. It’s been noted that he Hark sollcited the services of Chuck Comisky who worked on James Cameron’s Avatar, for specifically this reason.
Flying Sword of Dragon Gate is a highly enjoyable wuxia flick with heavy jianghu elementes. Is it a classic? Perhaps not, but it serves the genre well and was pretty damn enjoyable as well. Daily Soap Dish’s rating: 6.9 out of 10.
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