Just seen: House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu)

[Reiner]

After Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero another Chinese movie that will probably get international attention, directed by Zhang Yi Mou and starring Zhang Zi Yi and Andy Lau.
The movie is visually stunning, though perhaps not as much as Hero. It has more action though, yet it falls short of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon that has the right pace and is much more believable.

If the traditional wire techniques that make people fly and defeat the laws of physics otherwise are not your thing stay well clear of this movie, in fact here even the weapons can do so, flying around corners and the like.
And just as having an endless supply of bullets like in most Hollywood movies the soldiers here have an unlimited supply of big and heavy bamboo spears (lances?).
Worst, the action sequences in HoFD are so exaggarated that we it was just absurd and made us laugh; besides people with a dagger in their heart should stay dead.

Overall I was rather disappointed, nothing impressive in terms of story or acting either so I have no choice but to give it my

* * out of 5