Cantonese: Siu ngo gong woo ji Dung Fong Bat Baai
Mandarin: Xiao ao jiang hu zhi Dong Fang Bu Bai
English: Smiling Proud Warrior: Invincible Asia

JET LI THE LEGEND OF THE SWORDSMAN is Miramax's dubbed, abridged, and awkwardly retitled version of Tony Ching Siu-tung's SWORDSMAN II, one of the most accomplished and popular of the period fantasies that flooded HK theatres during the early 90s. The original SWORDSMAN (1990) was a problematic production, that ended up being a box office disappointment in relation to its immense cost. Regardless, producer Tsui Hark pressed on with a sequel but made some fundamental changes up front. In addition to a smaller scale and budget, he replaced the entire cast, with the sole exception of Fennie Yuen Kit-ying (who returns as "Blue Phoenix"). Taking over the lead role of "Ling Wu-chung" is Jet Li Lianjie, who brings greater energy and presence to the part, almost entirely eclipsing one's memories of Sam Hui Koon-kit's performance (which, in all fairness to Hui, is actually a more accurate interpretation of the character, as depicted in Louis Cha's novel).

As the film opens, a new and powerful threat has appeared in the martial world: Invincible Asia (Brigitte Lin Ching-hsia). Following instructions found in The Sacred Volume, the ambitious villain castrated himself and is gradually transforming into a woman, a normal side effect of this ritual, which gives the subject great supernatural powers. In league with Japanese ninjas (led by Waise Lee Chi-hung), Asia plans on having the Sun Moon Sect rule the country and has kidnapped Chief Wu (father of Highlander Ying, played this time by Rosamund Kwan Chi-lam) as the first stage in this plan. While fleeing from a platoon of army scouts, Ling encounters Asia on a beach, practising his/her newly acquired abilities. Pretending to be mute, Asia (who had crossed paths with Ling once briefly before) flirts with the swordsman, rather than killing him. Joining forces with Ying, Ling and his fellow Wah Mountain swordsmen set out to find Chief Wu (Yam Sai-kwoon), and Ling is eventually able to liberate him from one of Asia's prisons. However, Wu has changed during his incarceration and now, lusting after domination himself, has his own plans for The Sacred Volume. After so much death and treachery, Ling would like nothing more than to leave the turmoil of the martial world behind but events necessitate that he intervene in this power struggle one more time.

Brigitte Lin cuts a dazzling figure in one of her most memorable Yin Yang roles; the character's sexual confusion adds a wonderful, atypical undercurrent to the proceedings, taking the traditional lovers-on-opposing-sides story element to an entirely new dimension. While involved, the plotting in this sequel is easier to comprehend and the visuals are consistently arresting. The action choreography in period fantasies is almost always exciting but the combat here features some of the most fluid and impressive wirework you will ever see and is an absolutely thrilling blend of mystical and traditional (ie. earthbound) combat. SWORDSMAN II's success prompted Tsui to undertake THE EAST IS RED (1993), an even more flamboyant but, sadly, far less satisfying continuation of Invincible Asia's saga. Michelle Lee Kar-yan (aka Michelle Reis), Lau Shun, Candice Yu On-on, and Chin Kar-lok also appear.

Miramax has developed a bad reputation for their mishandling of many HK imports and JET LI THE LEGEND OF THE SWORDSMAN (which even carries that awkward moniker onscreen) will do nothing to change things for the better. On the one hand, the studio deserves a measure of credit for retaining the vast majority of SWORDSMAN II's original score and foley tracks but they sound so flat next to the new revoicing, the mix is thrown off balance and the combat sequences suffer considerably as a result. Jack Maeby's English script considerably dumbs down the original dialogue (even the hero's name is simplified from Ling Wu-chung to Ling Wei) and often drops details (like the fighters yelling their martial arts stance, just prior to attack) that added to the movie's character. While none of the stars did their own looping in the Cantonese version, the American voiceover artists' line readings are rarely suitable and emphasize just how inane the new dialogue often is. The incompetence of the ADR reaches its peak at 57:48, when a line being spoken by Chief Wu has accidentally been dropped from the mix, making it seem like a supporting player's words are coming out of Wu's mouth! Approximately 9 minutes has been cut for this release, including some gore. When Chief Wu uses the "Essence Absorbing Stance" against Invincible Asia later on, all shots of blood cascading from her body have been removed (this sequence is also missing one shot in the HK version and appears uncut only in the 112 minute Taiwanese edition). Some more spurting blood and a head rolling down some stairs have also been excised to ensure an "R" rating.