The Final Master

Xu Haofeng's historical martial-arts thriller is a bit choppy, but its deadly Wing Chun fight scenes have passion and zing.

This is a juicy, beach read of a movie, the kind of overstuffed story you'd devour in book form while slumming on the sand under an umbrella.

Hefty daggers, staggering broadswords and even battle axes are unsheathed and duly deployed throughout.

Haofeng's movie doesn't feel like many other movies of its ilk. That's mostly a good thing, even if the movie can't quite fit all its eccentric pieces into a satisfying whole.

Initially astonishing, overly complicated, increasingly incoherent, and ultimately silly ...

During the impressive action sequences - which Xu choreographed himself - the director plays it straight. Otherwise, he introduces playful kinks into most of the genre's other conventions.

Boasting award-winning action choreography, the film acts as a fine showcase for various weapons styles, ranging from butterfly blades to battle axes.

Fans of kung fu and martial arts films will most likely get something out of this. For the casual viewer interested in diving into the genre, I'm not sure this is the best place to start.

Xu Haofeng's latest has on obvious affinity for the martial arts films that inspired it, and has an authentic period wuxia feel, but never steps beyond those boundaries.

Xu Haofeng may have an original eye but he desperately needs a collaborator that can help convey his ideas in a much more enjoyably cinematic fashion. Hopefully his next film, he can do this but in the meantime, The Final Master is a colossal bore.