Every movie about bandits attempting a takeover of a town is actually a thesis on the nature of the state. This one is conscious about it, an interpretive history of early 20th Century China in the guise of a hyperreal yarn, along with an admission that all political power is but organised banditry. Jiang Wen smuggles a lament for the death of political idealism into a snickering gang warfare flick. The rapid cuts, violence as humour, cons stacked upon cons, keep you interested. It’s funny.

Every movie about bandits attempting a takeover of a town is actually a thesis on the nature of the state. This one is conscious about it, an interpretive history of early 20th Century China in the guise of a hyperreal yarn, along with an admission that all political power is but organised banditry. Jiang Wen smuggles a lament for the death of political idealism into a snickering gang warfare flick. The rapid cuts, violence as humour, cons stacked upon cons, keep you interested. It’s funny.