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RATING:   
Set in ancient China, this movie may — on the face of it — seem like it's yet another in the long list of period swordfighting movies, but really, it's more along the likes of a J D Robb romance novel than a war epic per se.
Young princess Yan Feier (played by the delightfully-delectable Kelly Chen, picture) is thrust into the throes of war when her father the king is killed after a battle. But can someone who's never held a sword lead an army into battle? Aided by General Muyong (Donnie Yen), Feier learns the art of war but some want her to fail.
While escaping her enemies one day, Feier gets hit by a poison dart but thanks to the quick thinking of a doctor (Leon Lai, picture) who just so happens to be a fierce warrior, she survives her ordeal. But when the princess finds herself falling for the doctor, she must now choose between the duty to her kingdom or to follow her heart.
There are enough scenes of derring-do to satisfy those who like scenes of fighting en masse — like when Yen takes on a multitude of soldiers — and there are enough quiet romantic moments for those who prefer that sort of thing. But both elements seem to fight for screen time and director Tony Ching appears to be undecided about which tack he likes more, so he just uses everything.
However, this "you're all my favourites" attitude just makes the movie seem a little schizophrenic, and it's compounded with slightly overly-predictable moments — like Chen and Lai's love scene, for example, which dampens the pace set in the early half of the movie.
For her part, Chen, who had to learn all the martial arts/swordfighting in a short space of three months, seems a little unsure as to how she should play her character (elegant or spunky, romantic lead or warrior princess?) but manages to cobble a credible enough performance. And yes, she does do most of her stunts, and she really can shoot an arrow while astride a horse.
Yen — looking more and more like Lou Diamond Philips; has anybody seen them in the same room together? — does admirably as the general in love with the princess. And Lai reliably provides those stoic onscreen moments.
Can this end up as one of the 10 greatest Chinese epics of all time? Probably not but it's entertainment enough. - TODAY/ra
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