The Legend of the Liquid Sword (1993)



	The Legend of the Liquid Sword		Return to Review Archive - L
	Year:	1993	Chingmy Yau and Aaron Kwok
	Director:	Wong Jing
	Cast:	Aaron Kwok Fu-Sing, Chingmy Yau Suk-Ching, Gloria Yip Wan-Yi, Winnie Lau Siu-Wai, Anita Yuen Wing-Yee, Deric Wan Siu-Lun, Loletta Lee Lai-Chun, Tsui Siu-Keung, Wong Wan-Si, Fennie Yuen Kit-Ying, Lee Siu-Kei, Cheung Man (cameo)
	The Skinny:	Visually interesting swordplay comedy that collapses through the usual Wong Jing bag of tricks, i.e. excessive wackiness, uneven pacing, and tired comedy.
	Review by Kozo:	Aaron Kwok stars in this standard wuxia-comedy from the mind of Wong Jing. Borrowed from a popular Chinese story, it tells the story of Fragrant Chu (Kwok) and his duel with the evil Batman (don’t ask), which has something to do with their masters not liking each other. Batman uses the “Sacred Water” to blow people to shreds. In the end, Chu needs the help of many, including Cheung Man, the mistress of the “water technique,” which is probably what the whole liquid sword thing is all about. Lots of fighting and lots of wacky hijinks abound. Too much hijinks actually, especially from Deric Wan Siu-Lun as the traveling swordsman who tags along. His smarmy antics are so annoying they may inflict damage to your television. A bevy of babes appear throughout the flick, adding some draw for the fanboys. As Fragrant Chu’s three sisters, Anita Yuen, Gloria Yip, and Winnie Lau are the epitome of the flower vase, meaning they don't do much but stand around and look nice. Loletta Lee is Batman’s girl, and Fennie Yuen has the “Shampoo”* role as a girl who decides she simply must marry Fragrant Chu. As the cross-dressing Flowerless, Chingmy Yau is attractive, but even that’s almost negligible. There are some good moments (usually visually arresting ones), but they’re few and far between. As Wong Jing movies go, this film’s not bad, but it’s not good, either. (Kozo 1996) *a Ranma 1/2 reference for all the Japanimation fans out there
	Availability:	DVD (Hong Kong) Region 0 NTSC Mei Ah Laser Widescreen Cantonese and Mandarin Language Tracks English and Chinese subtitles
		image courtesy of Mei Ah Laser Disc Co., Ltd.
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