During a tumultuous period of the Song dynasty, patriotic General Yang Ye bravely sacrifices himself in battle. In his honour, Yang Ye is posthumously given a famed weapon – the Nine-Ring Golden Dagger. Years later, with the treasure disappearing, Yang’s daughters set out to get back their inheritance and gain the reluctant help of a jaded ex-soldier who now runs an inn. The trio, with other allies made along the way, now face ruthless forces who are determined to get the blade for themselves. One, in particular, might be too powerful for the heroic forces.
It’s often been said that while the West has become obsessed with superhero movies (though that seems to be cooling off), Eastern audiences have turned to these extraordinary protagonists in wuxia and the like. And ‘Nine-Ring Golden Dagger’ is a good example of this, a fusion of the classic wuxia style action with all of the pomp and edifice of the modern superhero blockbuster. ‘Nine-Ring Golden Dagger’ looks stylish and utilises a few sets and locations that make a change from the modern obsession with computer generated backdrops.
While it certainly has the swagger that a modern action film might require, it doesn’t quite have the ability to grip the viewer with the story and/or the characters. Great genre pieces cannot just rely on the action; they have to give you characters that create some interest. Wuxia is replete with weird and wonderful protagonists and though the beginning promises a rogue’s gallery of such figures, the pay-off isn’t there. Our hero’s story arc is undermined while the two sisters are not well defined enough to stand out. The film is blessed with a suitably fearsome villain, though, and the finale is a classic ‘heroes team up against one villain’ scene.
‘Nine-Ring Gold Dagger’ might not have that hook that keeps the viewer on board throughout, but there is enough promise to make it a more than adequate watch. It has a tight 95 minute running time and though I like the commitment to telling a story without it being needlessly bloated (very much a malady of modern cinema), a few more establishing scenes would have given the whole thing more of an emotional pay-off.
Well Go USA recently released ‘Nine-Ring Golden Dagger’ on US Digital and will bring it to Blu-ray and DVD on July 1, 2025. You can order it now from Amazon.com and Hi-YAH!.
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