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Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

R Released Aug 31, 2012 2h 2m Action Adventure List
68% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
A Ming Dynasty freedom fighter (Jet Li), a female warrior (Zhou Xun) and a corrupt eunuch (Kun Chen) are among those who converge on a remote desert hostel that sits atop a city of treasures.
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Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

Critics Reviews

View All (28) Critics Reviews
David Jenkins Little White Lies It's fun in the moment, but hardly one for the ages. Rated: 2/5 Oct 24, 2012 Full Review Steve Rose Guardian It's nonsense, but somehow irresistible. Rated: 3/5 Oct 18, 2012 Full Review Guy Lodge Time Out Amounts to a lavishly mounted series of airborne sword fights - each one more spectacular (and silly) than the last ... Rated: 3/5 Oct 16, 2012 Full Review Charles Webb MTV Relentlessly, impossibly improbable and fun. Jul 3, 2018 Full Review Edmund Lee Screen International Visually inventive yet dramatically lacking. Mar 30, 2016 Full Review Philip French Observer (UK) The movie is beautifully designed and the action sequences are violent and truly spectacular in a hallucinatory way. Oct 21, 2012 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Wuxia movie starring Jet Li, Zhou Xun, Tony Leung Ka Fai and Maggie Cheung. Tornadoes and Eunuchs in the famous desert outpost of Dragon Inn. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member Its nice to see Jet Li back in martial arts stardom, but unfortunately Flying Swords of Dragon Gate suffers from CGI overload. The effects are sloppy and very noticeable, to the point of full on distraction. Some of the lower key fight scenes are solid, but the lack of practical effects really drags down the overall product. The movie is averagely entertaining, but there's a fine line between blind ambition and doing too much when you don't have the budget. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member Awesome film one of the best 3D films yet Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Review: I really tried my utmost to understand what the hell was going on in this movie but the director kept on introducing new characters who belonged to different clans. On top of that, the characters kept on throwing up all these different names so it was hard to work out who was who. On the plus side, the production looked impressive and you could tell that there was quite a bit of money spent on some of the scenes, but I couldn't take the flying on strings, action scenes along with the crazy sword fights which went way over the top. Personally, I might have enjoyed it more if I knew what was going on, but I found it way to confusing and I lost the plot near the beginning. Disappointing! Round-Up: Jet Li is quite an impressive actor because he does his own stunts and he has an unique fast fighting style, but his performances aren't that emotional and some of his choice of films are really strange. He isn't in the same category as Jackie Chan because of his earlier contribution to Asian cinema, but there yet to find someone with the charisma and martial arts skills like Bruce Lee. I suppose it's like people like Bob Marley who really can't me imitated. Anyway, I really did have high hopes for this film, but I got totally let down because of the confusing storyline and unrealistic action scenes. Budget: $35million Worldwide Gross: $100million I recommend this movie to people who are into their Jet Li movies about a clan, fighting against evil doers to save some hidden treasure from getting in the wrong hands. 2/10 Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member You are a master of treachery. Some new leaders have taken over an Inn in the middle of the desert in hopes of finding the fabled lost city and its riches. The leader of the inn has very strict rules on everything from his servants, to his women, to his guests, to who can search his desert for the lost city. When a group of travelers who do not wish to follow his rules cross his path, and one is pregnant, all hell breaks loose in the desert again. "Your ladyship is the only one allowed to get pregnant around here." Tsui Hark, director of Once Upon a Time in China I, II, III, & V; Seven Swords; Zu Warriors; Dragon Inn; The Master; The Swordsman; and the upcoming The Taking of Tiger Mountain, delivers Flying Sword of Dragon Gate. The storyline for this picture was just okay but had some cool elements and a mixed bag of good action with too much CGI action. The acting was fairly solid and the cast includes Jet Li, Liu Chia-Hui, Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, and Li Yuchun. "What's in your belly?" "Let's take a look." I grabbed this off Netflix because I am a fan of Jet Li and Tsui Hark. I will admit Tsui Hark is very inconsistent, but every once in a while he'll nail it. This wasn't one of those instances. I did enjoy most of the action scenes, but there was definitely a ton of wire work here and not much natural martial arts. Overall, this is entertaining and worth a viewing but far from Li or Hark's best work. "Give me some wine and some time to taste some pickled flesh." Grade: C+ Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Very creative though some of the CGI/special effects looks a bit cheesy, and the plot has way too many sub plots to make sense of it all -- but a lot of fun to watch. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

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Movie Info

Synopsis A Ming Dynasty freedom fighter (Jet Li), a female warrior (Zhou Xun) and a corrupt eunuch (Kun Chen) are among those who converge on a remote desert hostel that sits atop a city of treasures.
Director
Hark Tsui
Producer
Nansun Shi, Dong Yu, Hark Tsui
Screenwriter
Hark Tsui
Distributor
Indomina
Production Co
China Film Co-Production Corporation, Film Workshop Ltd., China Film Group Corp.
Rating
R (Some Violence)
Genre
Action, Adventure
Original Language
Chinese
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 31, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$127.7K
Runtime
2h 2m
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