Swordsman 2 (1992, aka "Legend of the Swordsman") ½
literal translation: Laughing and Proud Warrior II: Invincible Asia
cast: Brigitte Lin, Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Michelle Reis, Waise Lee, Candy Yu, Fennie Yuen,
Lau Shun, and Yen Shi Kwan
director: Ching Siu-tung

"Swordsman 2" is brought to you in part by some of the same collaborated talents that helped bring us the "A Chinese Ghost Story" trilogy (director and action choreographer Ching Siu-tung, screenwriter and producer Tsui Hark, to name a few). However, installment numbero dos in the popular "Swordsman" trilogy suffer not from too many cooks in the kitchen, but rather too many mouths to feed.

Actress Fennie Yuen and actor Lau Shun, the only cast members from the original to stay on for the follow-up, are just two characters that could simply have had an entire film to themselves. *Each character in "Swordsman 2," which is really a separate unrelated film within the trilogy, deals out a stable of characters without much substance.

The talent on board is never questionable. Brigitte Lin nails her role as a gorgeous, but gender bending warrior; Jet Li seems plausible as a swordsman with a fetish for wine and women; his female co-stars (Kwan, Reis, and Yuen) comfortable in their roles; and Ching Siu-tung coaching from the sidelines as both director and wu xia coordinator, from which he does not miss a beat.

The script, partially penned by Tsui Hark himself is often a messy ride through ancient Chinese politics when feudal China was at war with neighboring Japan and itself. Waise Lee co-stars as a leader of a group of ninjas who work for someone? I don't know. Sometimes it's difficult to tell how one verse of dialogue connects to all the movement on screen during "Swordsman 2," but I suppose that is what the film's highlight is supposed to be about the action.

Though the film begins on a sluggish note, with an annoying cameo by Chin Kar-lok, director Ching Siu-tung constantly takes the film up a notch and stages some fairly enjoyable moments; wires intact of course.

"Swordsman 2" was a success in Hong Kong and has gone on to gather a sizable fan base in the U.S. and is even scheduled for a re-tooling through Miramax sometime in the near future. However, I couldn't help thinking that more time could have been spent on the characters and the script they are boxed in even if that meant sacrificing some of the more entertaining moments in mid air.

*The "Swordsman" trilogy is based on the book Proud and Laughing Warrior by Louis Cha, which was heavily down sized to fit into three films from a 2,000 page novel. This is more than likely why characterization was not a main priority for the screenwriters.

Audiences in Hong Kong and America may have enjoyed "Swordsman 2," but Jet Li has gone on to make less than enthusiastic comments regarding the film. At the time, Li was also working on the sequel to Tsui Hark's successful "Once Upon a Time" and simultaneously working on the "Swordsman" sequel.

Li admitted to never reading Cha's novel; or feeling comfortable in the role of Ling, who unlike Wong Fei-hung was a mischievous, womanizer, who held alcohol in high regard. Li was under contract to make "Swordsman 2," so after filming wrapped he opened his own production company to have better control over his work, but closed down after the company's "Fist of Legend," a remake of Bruce Lee's "Fist of Fury," flopped with Asian audiences.