Another Slice of Action
After all that fighting Fang Gang (Yu Wang) has settled down to a quiet life as a farmer with his sweetheart Hsiao Man (Chiao Chiao). But his skills as a one armed swordsman sees him being invited to a fighting competition held by The Eight Kings. But it seems this competition is a fake and The Eight Kings have ulterior plans when it comes to the clans of the fighters who have been invited. Now Fang Gang finds himself being asked to fight for other reasons and finds it impossible to turn down when others clearly need his help as other great fighters are killed.
Things haven't changed in my world since I reviewed "One-Armed Swordsman", I still only have a casual liking for these older martial arts movies and as such don't get as blown away by them as out and out fans. It is why having watched the sequel "Return of the One-Armed Swordsman" I say that whilst a good movie which is on par with "One-Armed Swordsman" it didn't blow me away like it does others.
The good news is that like with the first movie "Return of the One-Armed Swordsman" is easy to follow with are hero having happily created a quiet life for himself but ending up fighting again. But not fighting for his own glory when he is invited to the competition but fighting to protect and save others when it turns out The Eight Kings are up to no good with evil plans when it comes to the clans. That's it and so for those who struggle with foreign language movies will find it easy enough to follow without having to pay close attention to the subtitles.
But of course the real appeal of "Return of the One-Armed Swordsman" is the action and there is plenty of variety going on with the different fighting styles. And that means there are some creative set pieces as we are introduced to them, most of which have that fantasy aspect about them. And even as just a movie fan who can appreciate the art of movie making the action scenes are entertaining with some bloody death scenes including one with hooked blades under a man's arm which then lift him in to the air.
What this all boils down to is that as purely a movie lover "Return of the One-Armed Swordsman" is entertaining and it is a sequel which is on par with the original. But like with the original you need to be a fan of these older martial arts movies to be blown away by it all.
