Yes, here there be spoilers!
The heroes of Blade of Fury are on a mission from the Emperor to force a conservative local king to embrace the Imperial reforms. He won't. Through various intrigues, incl. Martial arts contests, betrayals, and be-headings by best friends (!), our heroes end up... losing! Ahhh!
But, while the ending is less than satisfying, the movie as a whole features amazing action scenes with more martial arts choreography than in several hundred Western action movies put together. The characters are interesting (if not terribly well-developed) and the story is complex (as well as messy), and there are plenty of funny moments.
Cynthia Khan is cocky and headstrong, and interesting to see in a period piece (since she's mostly starred in movies taking place in modern-day settings). Ngai Sing - Seraph from Matrix Reloaded - is an appealing actor, but he doesn't have that much to do in this movie. Sammo Hung's part is very brief (blink to miss him!), and his kung fu moves are obviously inhumanly fast.
It really is too bad about the ending - the main characters were too likable to deserve such a fate. But all in all it is a very entertaining experience that I can only recommend, though you'd probably to have to be a fan of kung fu movies in order to appreciate it.
My rating: 8 out of 10.
