The Lost Bladesman

They don't make films like they used to. Except in China. The Lost Bladesman is a historical epic of the old school with a cast of thousands filling out massive battle scenes, and vast sets forming the backdrop for meticulous reconstructions of siege warfare. These are leavened with some inventive film-making including an extraordinary shot from the point of view of a man being decapitated in which he sees his own tears as his head spins through the air.

However, in its account of the legendary warrior Guan Yun Chang, the film retains the turgid, over literal storytelling of the classic historical blockbuster. Dialogue consists of endless exposition of the myriad intrigues that fill the story. Fortunately, our hero is a one man WMD and his path through the film is littered with bodies. The fight scenes are well staged and performed, only hampered by Yun Chang's favoured weapon, a cumbersome thing that resembles a Victorian gardening implement. [Keir Roper-Caldbeck]