Two icons of Chinese martial-arts flicks — director Tsui Hark and actor Jet Li — unite in “Flying Swords of Dragon Gate.” The story has been brought to the screen twice before (once by Tsui), but this version is the first in IMAX 3-D, which is the main reason to see it.
The epic, set during the Ming Dynasty, concerns the search for hidden treasure at a desert trading post known as the Dragon Gate, but the plot is secondary. “Flying Swords” is to be seen for its eye-popping action. It’s nice to know that after making 45 or so flicks since 1979 (“Once Upon a Time in China” among them), Tsui is able to adapt to 3-D, tailoring his shots to take advantage of the new technology. Who says you can’t teach a 62-year-old director new tricks?