The intricate story is well developed and the questions this film asks made this an enjoyable watch for its 2 hours+ run time.

We get to see brilliant imagery and costumes, some nice battle scenes, but we are often left confused as to where and at what we are actually looking at right now. This is getting annoying after a while. Also, we are confronted with some strange choreography, which may or may not be interpreted as some transition from the manga-comic imagery to film, but which does not work really in my opinion rendering the whole a bit silly at times. solid performances, nice plot items. Enjoyable experience.

Just as the title says, a battle of wits. Andy Lau did a great job in this, though I might like this film more than it deserves.