Film

Swordsman

Name: Swordsman
Genre: Action, Adventure
Released: 1990
Cast: Sam Hui, Cecilia Yip Tung, Jacky Cheung Hok-Yau, Sharla Cheung Man, Fennie Yuen Kit-Ying

Martial arts action

A 1990 Hong Kong action film where a stolen kung-fu manual sets off a chain reaction of adventure, betrayal, and spectacle. Sam Hui anchors this stylish, fast-paced romp through martial arts mayhem with genuine charm. It's exactly what you want from late-80s/early-90s HK cinema: inventive choreography, witty banter, and a story that exists mainly to connect one dazzling set piece to the next.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy wuxia built on cheeky, tangled loyalties and a sense that the sword-fights matter more than the plot's logic, with a loose, comic ease.

Skip it if you want a tight, linear plot, since this one wanders between factions and sidelines its own threads, and the comedy can feel uneven to modern tastes.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a brisk two hours of shifting alliances, where the mood jumps from goofy slapstick to sudden, sharp swordplay without much warning.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Once Upon a Time in China1991

Jet Li's Huang Feihong films are the apex of 90s martial arts cinema—impeccable choreography, vibrant colours, and a hero with real dignity. If you loved Swordsman's energy, these are where that energy found its truest form.

But The sequels dilute what makes the first one special, and even this one stops occasionally for melodrama that doesn't quite land.

A Chinese Ghost Story1987

The same studio sensibility as Swordsman, but channeled into supernatural romance instead of imperial intrigue. Leslie Cheung is magnetic, the ghost effects still hold up, and it has the same playful tone amid genuine danger.

But It's slower-paced and more focused on mood than action, which might feel like a letdown if you're chasing pure kinetic thrills.

The Killer1989

John Woo's masterpiece. If you want to understand where HK action cinema peaked, this is it—balletic gunplay, intense honour-bound relationships, and a melancholy that makes the action matter. Chow Yun-fat is unforgettable.

But It's longer than Swordsman and demands patience for its emotional beats. The violence is also far more brutal and less playful.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Swordsman

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Heroic Trio 2: Executioners1993

Both are Hong Kong action films from the same era, but Executioners stripped away the studio shine and spectacle to find something rawer underneath—same DNA, radically different execution.

A low-budget indie action film about two female assassins in a cyberpunk-ish Hong Kong. Shot on Super-16 with a gritty aesthetic, it's lean and weird and genuinely inventive, proof that the best action films sometimes arrive from nowhere.

But It looks nothing like Swordsman—murkier, cheaper, more alienating. The narrative is deliberately fragmented and the violence is unglamorous.

Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain1983

Tsui Hark's baroque fantasy-action film that influenced everything that came after, including Swordsman itself. Visually stunning and genuinely weird, with wirework that still astonishes decades later.

But The plot is deliberately incomprehensible and the dialogue sometimes nonsensical. You have to surrender to the spectacle rather than follow a story.

Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain poster

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin1978

Gordon Liu's transformation from ordinary man to martial master across a brutal training montage—this film defines the entire kung-fu movie blueprint. Raw, focused, and immensely satisfying in ways that are almost primal.

But It's much more earnest and ascetic than Swordsman. There's no humour here, just discipline and pain and gradual enlightenment.

Police Story1985

Jackie Chan at his absolute peak—doing genuinely dangerous stunts, telling a story clearly, and making you laugh without breaking the action. It's the template for action comedy that works because both halves are excellent.

But It's more grounded and realistic than Swordsman's flight-of-fancy tone, which some find less fun than fantastical martial arts cinema.

Come Drink with Me1966

King Hu's masterpiece, shot in vivid colour with compositions that influenced decades of wuxia cinema. Cheng Pei-pei's grace and the film's blend of action, beauty, and moral complexity still feel revolutionary.

But It's a black-and-white film (despite being shot in colour, it's often seen that way) and moves at a stately pace compared to 1990s action acceleration.

Mr. Vampire1985

Martial arts meets hopping vampires in a film that's funny, charming, and absolutely unique. Ricky Hui is wonderful as the bumbling protagonist, and it captures the scrappy creativity that defined a whole era of HK cinema.

But The tone whipsaws between comedy and genuine creepiness, and the vampire effects look cheap even by 1985 standards. That's part of its charm but not everyone's cup of tea.

Police Story 3: Super Cop1992

Jackie Chan as an undercover cop infiltrating a drug cartel, doing his own stunts in ways that are impossible and beautiful. It's Swordsman's contemporary, with the same early-90s optimism and technical audacity.

But The plot is thin and the film is really just a series of set pieces, though some might see that as a feature rather than a bug.

Burning Paradise1994

Both adapted or inspired by classic wuxia source material, but whereas Swordsman treats the genre as playground, Burning Paradise uses it to tell a story about cycles of violence that cannot be broken.

Ringo Lam's wuxia film, based on Jin Yong like Swordsman but radically darker—a revenge tragedy about a man trying to destroy a martial sect. It has Swordsman's visual style but absolutely none of its lightness. Gorgeous and devastating.

But It's emotionally punishing, moving from spectacle toward genuine tragedy. If you wanted fun adventure, this will leave you hollowed out.

Superstition1982

Both are films where plot is a delivery system for spectacle and stylistic invention. Swordsman uses martial arts and magic scrolls; Superstition uses a haunted house and improvised murder tools. The energy and the principle of escalation are the same.

An American slasher that has nothing to do with martial arts but has everything to do with Swordsman's DNA—inventive kills, rapid-fire editing, a protagonist who's watching (often helplessly) as chaos unfolds around them. It's campy, weird, and endlessly creative.

But It's a low-budget American horror film that looks like 1982 and has almost no narrative coherence. The sensibility is completely alien from Swordsman's Hong Kong gloss.