The show starts in the middle of an extortion plot, where the first swordsman hero waits for the reward to escalate to his asking rate, before appearing and cutting up the competition. From that Spaghetti-Western beginning, the plot drowns in dozens of confusing character names and their corresponding loyalties, and plots within plots. Many brief flashbacks are so elaborate (and confusing) that the already lengthy show looks to be a continuation of a much longer epic. The handsome cast are all silent types who look photogenic but have little character beyond visible properties. So it's up to the action to provide the entertainment.

And here's where the show leaves me cold. The frequent battles are conveyed through fast-cut angles that dice motion up into showy bits. These look okay by themselves but don't add up to a real action scene - there's almost no continuity to the fighting, and no emphasis beyond making the blurs and a staccato rhythm of cuts match the droning modern music. One fight is much like another. The cover touts the show as directed by the maker of Jet Li's Black Mask, but there are two other directors credited too. If there's a discernable pattern to the style, it's that the camera moves in 99% of the shots, and slow-motion is used at random. There's an arbitrary sameness to everything, as if this were a fashion video masquerading as a movie.

The lack of defined characters (or even a set of faces we can keep straight) maroons the viewer in a complicated narrative with few payoffs. Action scenes come and go but none have the slightest impact; the show has elaborate costumes, some good settings and attractive faces, and that's about it for me. The strangest letdown was the lack of pacing or a feeling of going anywhere. Two hours in, I still hadn't the slightest feeling of interest in the goings-on. It's as if someone said, keep it up for a certain length, and you've got a show.

Also discouraging further appreciation is the overall look. After a letterboxed title sequence, it's flat for television, but the photography isn't very attractive. It's shot on video and has a cramped look on a big screen, with too many closeups and little sense of scale or setting. I understand that the Tai Seng catalog is replete with gems and stunning surprises, but The Master Swordsman wasn't one of them for this reviewer. Or equally likely, this reviewer isn't appropriate for this genre.

Savant is no John Charles, and has almost no familiarity with Hong Kong martial arts films. There may be contextual or historic significance to this particular miniseries, or cast members with a strong following who I am remiss in not mentioning: Jimmy Lin, Christopher Lee (the other one), Thomas Ong, Max Mok, Kenneth Tsang, Theresa Lee, Hung Yen Yen, David Chang.

Tai Seng's two-disc Special Edition DVD of The Master Swordsman is presented in a fat keep case with attractive artwork. The package back has the label's helpful guides to language tracks, audio choices (DD 5.1 and DTS original Mandarin, DD 5.1 Cantonese and DD 5.1 English) and special features. Hong Kong cinema expert and author Ric Meyers and a Tai Seng marketing man provide a commentary with plenty of background for all the fans (I think they say that this is a television version of what was also a movie). There are trailers (promos, really) and Cast interviews. The show is 200 minutes long.