In June 2009, Michelle Yeoh announced her plans to work with Woo and Su Chao-pin on a wuxia film called The Sword and the Martial Arts World; production was anticipated to begin in September that year[1][2]
This was meant as a vehicle for Yeoh, who is friends with Woo and Chang, to showcase her martial arts skills[3][4][5]
Since Su was not well-known outside of Taiwan, Woo agreed to be listed as a co-director to ease the investors' concerns about box office performance[3]
In an interview with Giant Robot, Su confirmed that Woo primarily acted as a producer, but did direct one scene with his daughter Angeles[6]
Some reviewers questioned the film's implausible plot[7][8]
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian thought that despite a few interesting moments, multiple elements of the film "all [looked] a bit samey"[9]
