The cover boasts "Best martial arts movie of all time. Hands down!" With an 8.1 IMDb rating and an engaging, plausible-sounding, story line of martial arts'-based resistance to 1930s Japanese imperialism, I figure this film is certainly worth a try. Especially since I have long practiced, respected and enjoyed martial arts, and the film claims to be based on the true story.

But how does any being of normal intelligence even sit through this movie, let alone sign on to IMDb and rate it a 8, 9 or 10??? Dimwitted, implausible story; and dimwitted, implausible characters. If in fact this film were representative of any martial arts code or practtioner behavior, that would be the end of martial arts. Every protagonist in the film is dead set on maiming or murdering each other -- and themselves! If in fact this film is even close to among the best martial arts movies now or ever, "martial arts" must be the most scum-ridden, unctuous backwater of film making that has ever existed -- a "genre" (if we can call it that) which makes XXX features high literature by comparison.

It's certainly the last such movie I'll ever watch.