Skip the first film and watch this instead - both are standalone stories and #2 brings us the Miike flavor we have grown to adore him for.

The story is nothing special, but Miike does a fine job with it yet I wouldn't place it among his hits. Pacing drags, a leaner edit would help. Feel safe to skip over this one.

With this cast, the excellent cinematography and Sonny Chiba action directing the film should have been better. It drags with too many and too long sequences that don't add much to the story, often if feels like a show reel for action scenes and stunts than a film with a story. Hu Jian-Qiang's appearance was a pleasant surprise, but again not a lot of payoff. Many stuntmen and horses no doubt injured in the making of.

Storyline is a hot mess, a big budget and A list star couldn't save this one from itself.