Tai Seng DVD Synopsis: During the dark ages of ancient China, warlords battled for land and wealth, all justice and morality were lost. Princess Ling (Michelle Reis from SWORDSMAN TWO) and her two generals Ching (Cynthia Khan) and Lau (Waise Lee) must escape from the rebel clan bent on bringing the kingdom down. With stunning action sequences choreographed by legendary Shaw Brother martial artist Phillip Kwok, ZEN OF SWORD is a masterful swordplay fantasy, now available for the first time on DVD!

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Views: As a fierce war ravages the land in ancient China, a princess tries to escape many attempts on her life with the help of her two generals; a husband and wife team who are highly-skilled fighters. On their travels, they soon meet the prince of the opposing clan who instantly falls in love with the princess. Of course, this forbidden love brings its own problems as the prince is convinced by his evil aunt that he must kill the princess. As they continue on, the heroes must evade the evil forces of the deadly Master of Yin – a man determined to get his hands on the princesses jade pipe, which houses the secret to finding the treasures of the world. It all leads to an explosive finale that challenges everyone involved in the name of love, honour, and integrity – helped by the clash of their swords and a simple lesson in morals!

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I've always wanted Zen Of Sword to be much better than it actually is. That's not to say that it is a terrible movie by any means as the film delivers some great action scenes as well as a fun cast - but it definitely has its flaws, including some overly melodramatic moments that often come across quite flat in comparison to the wild action on offer. As it is one of the smaller budgeted wuxia flicks of the early 90's, I can forgive its lack of polish and odd editing decisions here-and-there – but I've also come to terms that the quality of my Tai Seng DVD release isn't really doing it any favours. I had bootleg VHS tapes from the early 90's that had a better picture than this, so perhaps the chance to see this great wee flick restored on Blu-ray in the near future may better my opinion of it overall. Zen Of Sword is often forgotten about by fans when they look back at the new wave wuxia movies of the 90's, such as Moon Warriors (1992), Swordsman Trilogy (1990), New Dragon Gate Inn (1992), and many others, but I do think it deserves a watch due to its wild action scenes courtesy of Shaw Brothers legend, Philip Kwok – who also co-stars throughout. Blending some intricate wire-work with nifty martial arts moves, the popular Venom manages to bring viewers a range of fight scenes that play like a mix of Ching Siu Tung's choreography in the aforementioned Swordsman (1990) movies with plenty of FX and imagination that reminded me of the classic Bastard Swordsman (1983) and Holy Flame Of The Martial World (1983) – both of which came from Kwok's old place of work.

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While Michelle Reis gets top-billing for her role as the princess, she really doesn't get to do much except look pretty and try to stay alive. The delightful Cynthia Khan and prolific Waise Lee get the more exciting jobs as the husband and wife generals, with Waise eventually dishonouring the missus for his own greed. The pair had worked together the year previous on In The Line Of Duty 6: Forbidden Arsenal (1991) and went on to star in the equally underrated 13 Cold Blooded Eagles (1993) not long after this. From there, Khan and Lee would share the screen a number of times over the next few years in film such as Murders Made To Order (1993), Pink Bomb (1993), A Serious Shock! Yes Madam! (1992) (aka Yes Madam '92 and Death Triangle), Avenging Quartet (1993), and low budget titles such as Angel On Fire (1995), Tough Beauty & The Sloppy Slop (1995), and Super Cops (1997). Lau Sek Ming, a face and name that doesn't really stand-out to many fans of Hong Kong cinema, plays the love-torn prince of the opposing clan, in what would only have been his second role after appearing in Underground Express (1990). His decisions and heart is played with by his angry aunt, played by the amazing Kara Hui Ying Hung – co-star to Philip Kwok in many Shaw Brothers classics and the wonderful Lau Shun, who made a name for himself only a couple of years prior in titles such as Prince Of The Sun (1990), The Swordsman Trilogy (1990), A Chinese Ghost Story 2 & 3 (1990), Dragon From Russia (1990), and New Dragon Gate Inn (1992), stars as the evil wizard of Yin who gets to ramp-up some exciting moves in the big finale. He is joined by prolific actor Lau Siu Ming, a fantastic actor who started life in the industry as Scholar Fong in Tsui Hark's classic film, The Butterfly Murders (1979), before going on to star in many great titles such as Royal Warriors (1986), A Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy (1987), Project A 2 (1987), A Better Tomorrow 2 (1987), Swordsman (1990), and so many more. And finally, Philip Kwok stars as the God Of War – although he doesn't really get to hang around too long unfortunately. Regardless, it's always a joy to see him on-screen and he tops off an already enjoyable cast in Zen Of Sword...

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Although Kwok keeps things exciting enough in the action department, I thought it was strange how first time director Yu Mang Sang got the job of helming such a film. He had worked as the assistant director on Lee Siu Wa's horror film, Crazy Blood (1983), but hadn't really done much more in between. Unfortunately it shows, as most of the scenes between the action come across quite flat and boring for the most part. Personally, I think had Zen Of Sword been in the hands of a more experienced director such as Ching Siu Tung, Tung Wai, or Sammo Hung, I reckon it would have been higher-up on a lot of peoples lists. But it is what it is and, as mentioned, I wouldn't say no to a restored Blu-ray version someday!

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Overall: Saved by some exciting and fun action scenes, Zen Of Sword is worth the watch but just lacks a little something that makes it a classic!

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DVD Extras: Trailers