According to Chinese media, "Xiao Ren" marks Wu Jing's return to the traditional martial arts film genre after many years of being associated with war and science fiction projects. The film attracts attention when it gathers an experienced martial arts crew, especially the participation of action director Yuan Heping - who was once dubbed "the most powerful martial artist in the world" - returning to direct after a long absence.
The work chooses a filmmaking style that leans towards real-world martial arts instead of being too dependent on special effects. The fighting scenes are built neatly and decisively, limiting ostentatious movements, focusing on realistic feelings. Besides Wu Jing, the film also gathers many generations of action actors such as Jet Li, Nicholas Tse, Zhang Jin, creating a combination of veteran artists and familiar faces of Chinese martial arts films.
Jet Li's return after many years of absence in the martial arts genre is considered a notable highlight. The confrontation scenes between him and Wu Jing are of interest to the audience, while Nicholas Tse impresses with a fighting style mixed with modern techniques. According to the crew, many action scenes are performed live, limiting the use of stuntmen to increase authenticity.
The production process of "Xiao Ren" is also mentioned with harsh filming conditions. The film crew filmed in the Xinjiang desert, working in environments with large temperature differences, from intense heat to cold weather, even encountering extreme weather phenomena. The filming of the real setting is said to be aimed at creating rough material, suitable for the desert ghost atmosphere of the story.
In addition, Ngo Kinh is said to have lost weight and changed his appearance to suit the character's image, while actress Tran Le Quan participated urgently and performed many horse riding and archery scenes, while bringing traditional stage elements into action segments, creating new colors for the film.
However, the box office journey of "Xiao Ren" is not entirely smooth. With a large production budget, the film is under high revenue pressure to break even. In the early days of screening, the work ranked behind some competitors in the same Tet season, even at times behind animated films, causing many opinions to believe that martial arts films are difficult to compete in the context of changing markets.
However, thanks to word-of-mouth effects and interest in real action scenes, film revenue has gradually improved. Besides, the work still receives mixed opinions about the script and storytelling rhythm, when some viewers think that the storyline is still disjointed, the editing and young characters have not created a clear mark.
Some opinions also noted that the film has many direct violent scenes, with quite strong fighting scenes, so it is not suitable for young audiences.
The reception for "Tiêu nhân" is considered a signal that the martial arts film genre still has a place if seriously invested in martial arts and production. The initial achievements of the work show that audiences are still interested in this genre, as long as the story and approach are convincing enough.
