Sword Masters: The Battle Wizard

Pao Hsueh-li spins this wild, eye-poppingly bizarre kung-fu period epic adapted from Jin Yong's 2,000-page tome Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. Two decades after getting his legs whacked off by Prince Tuan Ching-tun -- who used a rare Yang Chi technique that fires bolts of lightening from one's fingertips -- the nefarious Wong Po-yen seeks vengeance on the Prince's son, Tuan Yi (Danny Lee), an earnest young scholar with no discernible martial arts skills. One day while strolling in the country, Tuan Yi happens upon Cheung Ling-ar, an unusual lass who can wield snakes into weapons that can explode heads. When Wong's men catch up to them, Ling-ar tells Tuan Yi to find the legendary swordswoman and Yang Chi master Mou Wan-ching (Tin Lei) who has the habit of killing every man she meets. Because Tuan Yi told her of impending danger, Wan-ching spares his life. He returns the favor when she gets a near-lethal dose of poison from a demon. When he drinks the blood of a giant killer snake, Tuan Yi is suddenly in possession of fantastic kung-fu abilities. Later, Tuan Yi and Wan-ching's wedding is thwarted when Wong -- who is now ambulatory thanks to a pair of metal stilts -- captures the couple with plans to serve them up to his giant man-eating, kung-fu fighting monkey.