HEROES OF THE EAST is most probably the greatest martial arts film I have seen. A terrific story of marital dysfunctional and rivalry between nations plays host to some of the most vivid, thrilling fight scenes ever filmed. Amazingly every fight scene in this film is on par with the others. Usually martial art films will have one or two stand out set pieces and smaller scenes peppered about, but in Heroes of the East each fight scene is handled with the same amount of care and attention, which is no small deal as the majority of the film is the fight scenes. For a film that is mostly action scenes, amazingly no one dies or gets seriously injured in the entire movie. This film is about two nation's warriors learning to respect each other's technique and culture not about striking down the opponent. The marital dysfunction scenes that set the film in motion are also hugely entertaining. One scene in particular in which husband and wive throw down their country's hidden weapons on a table recalls the great Hollywood comedies of the 30s and 40s. Combining the best of both worlds Heroes of the East becomes a relentlessly entertaining, inventive masterpiece.
Review of Heroes of the East
