The New One-Armed Swordsman (like many other Hong Kong movie sequels) has nothing to do with the first. And instead of starring Jimmy Wang Yu as Fang Kang, The New One-Armed Swordsman stars David Chiang as a young swordsman named Lei Li. After losing a fight against Long Yizhi (Ku Feng), Lei Li swears to retire from the martial world and cuts off his own arm. He starts working as a waiter and is constantly getting bullied. But when his friend, Hero Fung (Ti Lung), is killed by Long Yizhi, Lei Li comes out of retirement to get his revenge.
I didn’t expect to like The New One-Armed Swordsman very much. I kinda figured that this movie was just something Chang Cheh quickly put together in order to cash in on the “One-Armed Swordsman” name while it was still popular. I more or less expected a remake of the original except with David Chiang. But right from the opening alone, I was hooked.
The New One-Armed Swordsman has everything that I liked about the first two. It has the emotional story from the original and the over the top, exciting action from Return. I complained that there was too much story in the original and too much action in Return, but this movie has a near-perfect combination of both. It had terrific characters and a very touching story about revenge and brotherhood. And even though it has the “One-Armed Swordsman” name, it stands well on its own.
I didn’t expect to like The New One-Armed Swordsman very much. I kinda figured that this movie was just something Chang Cheh quickly put together in order to cash in on the “One-Armed Swordsman” name while it was still popular. I more or less expected a remake of the original except with David Chiang. But right from the opening alone, I was hooked.
The New One-Armed Swordsman has everything that I liked about the first two. It has the emotional story from the original and the over the top, exciting action from Return. I complained that there was too much story in the original and too much action in Return, but this movie has a near-perfect combination of both. It had terrific characters and a very touching story about revenge and brotherhood. And even though it has the “One-Armed Swordsman” name, it stands well on its own.
I’m really struggling to think of any notable flaws in The New One-Armed Swordsman. The action was exciting, the story was top notch, the characters were all very interesting, and the bittersweet ending gives me chills every time I see it. This movie rarely has a dull moment and I’m confident in saying that this is my favorite movie from the One-Armed Swordsman trilogy.
Images from HKMDb
Images from HKMDb