Whoa. Awesome. If you like epic battle films like 300 (maybe a bad example) or Troy (a slightly better example), then this one is definitely for you. The scale of the movie is fantastic, and yet, probably because it was directed by John Woo, there is also plenty of 'hero' action. In proper Greek tradition (maybe in Chinese tradition too, I don't know...), countless warriors are led to the battlefield in grandiose cinematic fashion. And then the heroes step out to confront one another to enact choreographic masterpieces (when they're not talking scalps by the dozens in the larger battle scenes). The heroes, in this case, are the army generals, each with his own unique style and combat technique -- which is a cornerstone of a good kung fu film. The heroes and the villains are well defined and their motivations are clear. In short, this was a fantastic movie that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Now something I should note here is that I watched the Western release of this film. The version I watched was just under two and a half hours long, and there was a kind of awkward English narration at the beginning of the film to put the story in historical context. I didn't need that, and it kind of threw me a bit since the rest of the film is in Mandarin with English subtitles. Now that I've seen this version, however, I am really tempted to watch the original Asian release... but it is over four hours long! Frankly, I think there was plenty of story to tell for this movie to have gone that long, and I think it would be worthwhile to fill in even more of the back stories for some of the characters in the Western version that were not as fully developed.
In short, if you love kung fu films, you will love this film. If you love epic Asian films like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, then you will love this film. Visually, the movie is just stunning, and the story is awesome and compelling. Very true to life with just a hint of a dash of Chinese mysticism to make it interesting and unpredictable. I strongly recommend this film.
This is called a "B-Movie" because nobody is willing to adopt the categories "Piece of Crap" or "Somebody Should Publicly Flog the Director." Hoping to capitalize on the the Saw genre (reads: put strangers in a room against their will and encourage them to kill one another and/or figure out how they are all connected), the "writer(s)" of this crapfest thought it would be "creative" to make a nearly identical spinoff film where the game master is a vampire and not merely a dark vigilante. Unfortunately, the writers didn't realize (or just completely ignored the fact) that they were talentless hacks, and that a good film also requires actors that can act and a budget that extends beyond making the film in dad's basement and calling it a "set."
This one is so bad that I couldn't even get a giggle out of its pathetic awfulness. The long and short of this film is that you're probably best just to skip it entirely. It is not worth your time.
