Period action film from South Korea set during the tumultuous transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties – the backdrop for many, many kung fu films – which is both a broiling political revenge drama and a story about a father’s devotion to his child. It’s a credit to first-time writer-director Choi Jae-hoon that both themes fit so seamlessly and effectively together. Korean heartthrob Jang Hyuk is superb as the titular swordsman, Tae-yul; devout protector of the reigning Joseon dynasty monarch until a coup sees the king forced into exile. Tae-yul flees to the misty hills – hiding from the secular world in both a figurative and literal sense – to raise a baby girl in isolation. It is only when the girl enters adolescence and is kidnapped into slavery by the Manchu-led Qing rulers that Tae-yul steps up, cutting through ninja and single-handedly taking out a Qing rifle guard, all the while battling with increasingly impaired vision. The Manchurian invaders are depicted as uncouth, savage and unpredictable, personified by a husky-voiced slave trader played by Indonesian actor Joe Taslim, sporting a mullet and tash combo which is less Qing dynasty and more 1980s hair metal band. Taslim is infinitely watchable and he fills the screen with a menacing grace, mastering both an unfamiliar dialect and great skills with the blade. Much of the choreography is filmed at eye-level and close-up, giving a wonderfully immersive sense of being in the thick of the action, as well as revealing the intense physical demands being placed on its star, Jang Hyuk, who gives a committed performance. An overzealous ADR process, some incongruous wire gags and a clunky, contrived denouement are all relatively minor gripes. The film’s premise seems eerily prescient as South Korea continues to face a consistent undercurrent of threat from the north, despite the intervening 400 years. But putting politics to one side, this can still be easily consumed as a breezy and very well-made genre film.

The Swordsman is available on digital and Blu-ray in North America on 16 February 2021 courtesy of Well Go USA.