I think the movie revovles around love, loyalty, lust and most
importantly the cruelty and uncertaintly of the human heart, as
what the poisoner/ alchemist in the movie said.
Dog eats Dog one schemely kills the other for the throne but in the
end the movie is giving us clues on who the murderer should
be.
First - the murder weapon is the uncrafted lustrous green dagger
claimed to be owned by the late emporer and bestowed to the crown
prince. It was also closely related to the crown prince since as
shown in the movie he was the one brandishing and welding it in
combat.
Second - the shocked, surprised and disbelieveing expression
depicted over Zhang Zhiyi's face shows that the assailant is
oneoone she trusted, loved or had faith in.
My guess is the assialant is the crown prince whom she loved all
along and that's what the movie theme is about - the human nature
and the human heart.
The best i can give for this movie is the costume and weaponry
design, although i am disappointed with the frequency of the fight
scenes and the stances and co-ordinating sure ain't the best as
compared to most other action movies i have seen so far. Realistic
and practical as it is to play an emphasis on the fact that no one
fighter is better and rein supreme over the other or everyone else.
Every warrior gets hurt or killed one way or the other.
