ZHANG Yimou's beautiful follow-up to last autumn's Hero, House of Flying Daggers, is in the same vein as its predecessor - and draws just as much blood, albeit in the most stylish context you could ever imagine.

Combining a love story with some of the most sophisticated fighting scenes modern cinema and all its technological wizardry will allow, it will satisfy all those who have enjoyed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or the eastern aspects of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.

And one of Crouching Tiger's leading ladies, the lovely Ziyi Zhang (pictured above), plays the lead female role of blind Mei. She is a member of the rebel organisation the House of Flying Daggers, who rob the rich to feed the poor - and dress in green to boot!

Fighting against the corrupt government, Mei is working undercover in an upmarket brothel when she's arrested during an altercation with a drunken customer.

Rescued from torture in prison by the mysterious Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro), the two then flee north in search of the other members of the House, falling in love along the way and pursued all the while by the official police force.

It's a little more complicated than this, but to preserve your enjoyment, should you choose to go and see it, I shall say no more.

But there are more than a few twists along the way to sustain the interest between the amazing action work.

Beginning with Mei's thrilling echo dance, in which she beats drums using the fabric of her dress, Yimou frames his narrative with some of the most progressive work yet.

Fights occur while the participants are suspended among bamboo canes, and daggers and swords fly through the air with something even more than the greatest of directional ease.

Slow-motion capture is utilised quite sublimely throughout, against some totally glorious landscapes, russet leaves, deepest green forests, and the final showdown in the snow.

It's not quite such an emotional rollercoaster as Crouching Tiger (i.e. I didn't cry), but it is a very fine way to pass two hours.