The Three Swordmen
Director: Taylor Wong
Year: 1994
Rating: 3.5
If someone is able
to figure their way through this convoluted and misshapen film, the mythical
labyrinth on the island of Crete should be a snap. This film is an absolute
mess from beginning to end with only sumptuous production values and a few
moments of flash to hold one's interest. I'd like to say the fine cast was
a positive, but they are so poorly used that it made me squirm. The editing
is simply appalling for a well budgeted film such as this - not only in
action scenes that have you scratching your head in puzzlement and annoyance,
but the basic narrative flow often leaves you guessing where the characters
are and what their physical positions are in regards to one another. On top
of this are subtitles that are incomprehensible at times and laughingly informal
at others. Coming near the end of the popularity of the fantasy flying kung
fu films, this one certainly added one more nail in the coffin.
You know you are in trouble when the first five minutes of the film is taken
up by an attempt to explain the characters and the background of the story
- about three minutes into it and I wanted to scream out "stop, before my
head explodes!". Essentially, the film is about two master Swordsmen -
Andy Lau and Brigitte Lin. Yes, that was swordsMEN as Brigitte Lin plays a
man. Not disguised as a man mind you or a man transmuting into a woman -
but simply as a man. Of course, there is a tradition in Chinese film with
having women sometimes playing male roles (though this came to an end for
the most part by the end of the 60's) - but here it just doesn't work. Brigitte
Lin doesn't look masculine in the least bit - and somehow trying to portray
a man makes her very colorless and bland - a sin in my book. She also has
next to nothing to do in this film but look solemn and the fact that she is
dubbed by a man certainly doesn't help matters (though John Charles points
out that she is dubbed by a female on the Mandarin track!). Andy on the other
hand is all phony charm - looking more lounge lizard than deadly swordsman
here.
The plot . . . ah the plot . . . my kingdom for a plot - I really am not
at all sure what it was. Someone is trying to destroy Brigitte's family and
they initiate a plan that first frames Andy for murder thus hoping to force
Brigitte to protect him from the royal family and leaving her own family open
to charges of treason. Tsui Kam Kong is the honorable lawman (and the third
swordsman of the title) who chases Andy across the region and Yu Li is the
member of Brigitte's family that seems to have an agenda of her own and hair
that is as deadly as any sword.
Some of the action has moments of imagination - but generally it has such
rapid edits and a camera that moves as swiftly as the actors do that it is
nearly impossible to grasp what is going on. After a while it becomes extremely
monotonous and only a great performance from Brigitte could have saved this
- but regrettably she is never given the chance.
