The Hurricane (1972)

A corrupt minister plans to sell out the country to Mongol invaders, and needs to send them a message - he recruits a renowned swordsman as messenger. His identity is supposed to be secret, but word gets out that it is a young swordsman known as Hurricane, and various heroes set out to intercept him before the message can be delivered.

The Hurricane - also much more excitingly known as Gold Cyclone Whirlwind - is another of the early Golden Harvest wuxia films featuring Nora Miao and Patrick Tse, with Chin Chuan as a prominent third lead. Shek Kin and Stanley Fung play the most prominent villains, with director Lo Wei content to be the traitor who remains in his palace being served by beauties.

The script is pretty good, presenting a story that sticks to common themes but isn't entirely derivative or predictable. Nora Miao plays another hot-headed fighter akin to The Blade Spares None, though her character here is not an especially capable fighter and she is definitely third fiddle to the bromance between the male leads.

Action is both less plentiful and less dramatic than that in The Comet Strikes, despite being choreographed by Chan Siu-Pang again. The fights are more grounded and based around more conventionally human levels of skill. The choreography is quite sophisticated though, with the logic and flow of the fights being well-considered - the fighters are not just flailing their weapons around, but move with intention.

The film appears to be shot in Taiwan, based on the natural outdoor scenery and a telltale appearance from Taroko Gorge (uniquely beloved of wuxia film makers). Cinematography from veteran Lam Kwok-Cheung is strong, making the film feel more artful than you might normally expect with Lo Wei in the director's chair.

Whilst the film doesn't have enough flair or enough of a unique hook to rate amongst the classics of the genre, it is a film I can comfortably recommend to genre enthusiasts.