Zhang Yimou has crafted a wide variety of brilliant films ranging from historical and societal dramas to wuxia action thrillers. This is not one of them. What it is, however, is a fun historical whodunnit comedy thriller with strong nationalist undertones.
As a blockbuster exploration of the origins and spread of a poem widely studied at a young age in China, the director deliberately steers away from more nuanced historical interpretations and instead emboldens the common understanding of national hero Yue Fei, and the antagonized Qin Hui. Entertaining and visually pleasing, but little depth in the narrative and often reliant on tropes the director is more than comfortable with.