【电影简介】

明朝宪宗年间，宦官弄权，滥杀贤臣。侠客赵怀安在营救忠良行动中，将恶贯满盈的东厂督主万喻楼一剑毙命，引来西厂督主雨化田，祭出天下格杀令。赵怀安等人一路亡命到嘉峪关的龙门，消失于铺天盖地的黑沙暴中。尘消风散后，西厂密探、鞑靼商队等江湖各路人马，再度投宿于龙门客栈这家大漠黑店。曾毁于大火的龙门客栈里，风骚的老板娘早已神秘失踪，只剩下逃过火劫的伙计们重起炉灶，痴等老板娘回来。几乎被世人遗忘的边关客栈，再次因缘际会地风起云涌，神密驻客风里刀的容貌，为何与雨化田如此相似？对客栈密道了如指掌的吹笛女子凌雁秋，又是何许人也？就在由雨化田亲率的西厂追兵赶来之际，地平线突刮起数条龙卷奇风，赵怀安横空飞出，欲与雨化田一决生死。大漠风烟间，一场天地变色的正邪之战，即将展开。

【音频文本】

Wuxia, or martial arts, movies are a distinct genre of Chinese film. The most memorable ones are not necessarily those packed with nonstop action, but ones in which the main characters extol the so called Wuxia spirit–loyalty, sense of mission, free expression of emotion, the strong helping the weak......

Director Tsui Hark has succeeded in creating a lasting impression on viewers with many of his wuxia films,including "New Dragon Gate Inn." But will his new film "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" be as successful as its prequel?

Considering Tsui's previous achievements, his fans know he has at least an adequate understanding of the wuxia spirit. A typical example in "Flying Swords" is Jet Li's character Zhou Huai'an. As a skillful swordsman, Zhou feels obligated to cleanse the Ming government of power-crazed officials. As he has chosen a dangerous road, he has made a conscious decision to neglect the love and safety of female swordsman Ling Yanqiu. Nevertheless, Ling is willing to sacrifice herself for Zhou and his mission. Having survived a missionimpossible with Ling, Zhou finally musters up enough courage to confront his feelings.

More importantly, Tsui is also known as a bold director who refuses to be shackled by tradition and constantly remains on the lookout for creative outlets for his ideas and beliefs. He is quite alert to the needsof his time and willing to challenge tradition and himself to meet them. For example, "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" is China's first domestically produced 3-D IMAX film. Tsui says the technology has greatly helped him further develop his filmmaking skills.

Aside from famous movie actors Jet Li, Zhou Xun and Chen Kun, Tsui also included young actors such as Li Yuchun and Kwai Lun-mei in his new film. The fledglings may not be much to look at, but their presence holds a certain appeal for young viewers. Even among the famous actors, Chen Kun, who plays two roles in the movie, gives a much more convincing performance than Jet Li. The latter is certainly impressive with his martial arts skills, but falls short when it comes to showing the human and tender sides of his character.

Tsui's creativity can also be seen in the diversity and originality of the weapons he assigns to each character. Some of them may have been designed to amplify the visual effects with 3-D technology, because theycreate quite a spectacle on an IMAX screen.

Generally speaking, the focus of the film is on form rather than spirit. Tsui Hark certainly has a way of making his film entertaining with an abundant supply of comical and breathtaking 3-D scenes. As for a portrayal of the wuxia spirit, viewers must look hard not to miss it. But because Tsui is only catering to contemporary viewers' tastes, perhaps he is not the one to blame after all.

On a scale from one to ten, "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" deserves a seven.

轻松调频EZFM 微信mrweekly