The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter: this action film by LAU Kar-leung tells the story of a military family in Imperial China who are betrayed by a jealous general and massacred in an ambush; the two surviving brothers, along with the two sisters and mother, must cope with the aftermath. In any case, the story is a (competent enough) excuse for a sequence of extremely well-choreographed and executed fights, all very dynamic and, when appropriate, brutal. Alexander Fu Sheng plays the Yang (or Yeung) Sixth Son, in a role cut short by real-life tragedy, who returns home traumatized. Gordon Liu plays the Yang Fifth Son, who escapes to become a monk; he projects the anger well, and his fighting skills are simply amazing. Kara Wai Ying-hung plays the also very competent Yang Eight Daughter.

Cinematographer TSAO An-sung and editors CHIANG Hsing-lung and LI Yen-hai create a visually dynamic spectacle; interestingly, some of the early fight sequences are set in an stylized location, making the film even more distinctive. Both the costume design (by LIU Chi-yu) and the art direction (by CHEN Ching-shen and TENG Kuang-hsien) are rich and colourful.