Sword Master (2016) - Derek Yee's Remake of Death Duel

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

I'll politely disagree on no humor:  David Chiang's insane brother had me laughing my head off.  Outside of that scene and the cameos by Lo Lieh and Ti Lung, I'll pass on repeat viewing though. Yee (the actor) is not for me. 

 

That said, I completely think Yee as director can pull off the remake. If anyone could, it's him since he's familiar with the material. It's a simple enough story you can do a variety of things with. 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2015 by Lady Jin Szu-Yi

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

I'll politely disagree on no humor:  David Chiang's insane brother had me laughing my head off.  Outside of that scene and the cameos by Lo Lieh and Ti Lung, I'll pass on repeat viewing though. Yee (the actor) is not for me. 

 

That said, I completely think Yee as director can pull off the remake. If anyone could, it's him since he's familiar with the material. It's a simple enough story you can do a variety of things with. 

 

 

Agreed and thanks for your input.

 

GD Y-Y

[ShawAngela]

Looking at the " stars " of this remake won't make me have the willing to watch it.

 

I prefer to keep in my memory the original one with all the stars I like...

 

That said, it's striking to see how much Derek Yee looks more and more like David Chiang !!

[Lady Jin Szu-Yi]

 

That said, it's striking to see how much Derek Yee looks more and more like David Chiang !!

Wow. He sure does. They could almost be twins now. 

Edited December 28, 2015 by Lady Jin Szu-Yi

[One Armed Boxer]

I recently got through watching this and gave it the full review treatment.  A worthy remake, one that both respects the source material and updates the aesthetic for a modern audience.  Check it out here - 

http://cityonfire.com/sword-master-2016-review/

[DrNgor]

Cool review, @One Armed Boxer, I doubt this will come to Brazil at this point, but one could hope. Looks neato.

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

SWORD MASTER

DVD release and Blu Ray April 11, 2016.

GD Y-Y

[Sheng]

Interesting read, OAB. Been curious about this film and will definitely grab it once its out. Derek Yee's films are usually always well scripted , casted  and executed. Also, I'm quite sure that the film's CGI backdrops will match the imaginative artificiality and garishness of Chu Yuan's Wuxia classics. Hope I can deal with all the CG-'enhanced' fighting though...

[Tex Killer]

13 hours ago, Sheng said:

Interesting read, OAB. Been curious about this film and will definitely grab it once its out.

Region A bluray is already out in hong kong. I am confused now should I order HK dvd immediately or wait several months for B bluray..

[thekfc]

7 hours ago, Tex Killer said:

Region A bluray is already out in hong kong. I am confused now should I order HK dvd immediately or wait several months for B bluray..

I ordered the HK Blu-ray from Buyoyo. I should be getting it within a week or so. 

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

This is pretty good. I like the masked killers.

 

GD Y-Y

[Drunken Monk]

What a waste of money. This film was bloody dreadful. The plot was too convoluted for its own good and the action, while mildly entertaining, was few and far between.

The film just drives on and on, seemingly going nowhere. I liked some of the sets and costumes but even they were hampered by the constant (bad) CGI.

I read plenty of good reviews about this one before buying it and now I feel duped. The whole thing is an exercise in tedium. As I said, there is good swordplay here and there but even that is ruined by excessive slow motion and CGI.

A true waste of time, this one. Then again, I didn't much care for the original. Maybe I was silly to hope this would be any better.

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

15 hours ago, Drunken Monk said:

What a waste of money. This film was bloody dreadful. The plot was too convoluted for its own good and the action, while mildly entertaining, was few and far between.

The film just drives on and on, seemingly going nowhere. I liked some of the sets and costumes but even they were hampered by the constant (bad) CGI.

I read plenty of good reviews about this one before buying it and now I feel duped. The whole thing is an exercise in tedium. As I said, there is good swordplay here and there but even that is ruined by excessive slow motion and CGI.

A true waste of time, this one. Then again, I didn't much care for the original. Maybe I was silly to hope this would be any better.

I finally saw it. I agree with you. The ending was totally lame. And the actor they chose in the lead did not appeal to me.

As far as the original it was not the best Chor  Yuen flix in my minds eye.

Better luck next time.

GD Y-Y

Edited April 20, 2017 by GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG

[ShaOW!linDude]

Just saw this in Walmart and sauntered right past it.

[One Armed Boxer]

On 2/3/2017 at 5:44 AM, GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG said:

This is pretty good. I like the masked killers.

 

GD Y-Y

7 hours ago, GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG said:

I finally saw it. I agree with you. The ending was totally lame. And the actor they chose in the lead did not appeal to me.

As far as the original it was not the best Chor  Yuen flix in my minds eye.

Better luck next time.

GD Y-Y

Those are some serious mixed messages you're sending right there GD Y-Y!

 

[reason108]

The visual style looks interesting but hate digital effects in the way they are used here. I will give it a rental. 

[paimeifist]

Just watched this, I enjoyed it enough. The plot was a bit convoluted at the start, but you get a grip of it eventually... similar to an old Chor Yuen flick in that regard! The visual style was really fun to me, and the action while very stylized was entertaining and did feature some decent swordplay. It's a beautiful movie with plenty of style and fun sets and scenes..

 

Overall I say it's worth a gander through Netflix if you're into fantasy wuxia movies.

[FightingFool]

Obviously I haven`t watched Death Duel enough as if this remake is even moderately loyal to it, I have forgotten lots. Few scenes here and there felt familiar, and it ends quite same as DD, but DD had better concept after the duel was done. While at times in Chu Yuan movies there was lots characters and clans I feel in Sword Master story is more complicated than in death duel..In short, expert swordsman who has killed many wants to retire but naturally it`s not that easy and he is drawn back to matters of martial world.

I don`t recall seeing leads Kenny Lin or Peter Ho in any other movie but they are good in acting and action too. Shaw veterans Norman Tsui and Jamie Luk(who often had small but visible roles in CC movies) add to movie.

2.5/5..there is nothing terrible wrong here, just feels like typical later day wu xia which looks pretty(sets and costumes are impressive) but there is very little beneath the surface. I will give this eventually re-watch after lot water has flown under the bridge..