Blind Cheng (Miao Xie) is a bounty hunter by trade, and is known as a knife-catcher by his peers. In Eye for an Eye: The Blind Swordsman, this warrior gets taken in by a pretty face who wants to hire him to enact some revenge. Her family got assassinated and she wants revenge! Although Ni Yan (Weiman Gao) gets by working at a way stop, a diner, she wants some justice and hires this tacker.
Although this setup feels more like a story set in the wild west, what’s presented in this Tang dynasty tale works just as well. The only difference lies in adding in a layer of political turmoil in the mix. And as for why it matters here, the common folk are at ends meet.
But ultimately, Eye for an Eye is about keeping viewers engaged with its fast and furious martial arts and swordplay. It has enough wonderfully choreographed moments to keep me satisfied, and I think I’ll need my hands on the remote on the computer to slow motion some bits! And when considering the era, not everyone can wear shades or be blindfolded to hide the fact they are blind. For this actor to keep his eyes closed throughout these action sequences had me keeping my eye on him! It’s possible to have his retina open so he can stay balanced. Fortunately, all those fast cuts and change of cinematography style hides those moments!
Also, it’s rare to orchestrate something as original as a blind swordsman duelling it out against a mob! Donnie Yen did an impressive job in John Wick 4 and this film is just as great, if not better, because it’s a period piece. Although this trope is nothing new, unless the film keeps audiences keen on loving the hero, not even turning a blind eye can help keep interest alive. Here, writer/director Bingjia Yang has enough narrative hooks to keep me invested!
Even though what’s presented isn’t anything I haven’t seen before, this film is an entertaining and enterprising start with what I feel as a new franchise. There’s word a sequel is in the works, as for what Cheng has to deal with next, it’s no doubt all the corruption going on in the courts as one dynasty falls and another emerges. Just how involved he’ll be depends on whether this film will go full on John Wick too, and gives us even bloodier fights to savour.
3½ Stars out of 5
Eye for an Eye: The Blind Swordsman Trailer
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