“The Blind Swordsman” is figure of movie and myth who first came to life as a hero of a post-World War II novel by Japanese writer Kan Shimozawa. That sightless samurai popped up in Japanese films, with variations turning up on in other Asian cinema, Western TV, in “Star Wars: Rogue One” and “John Wick 4” as played by Chinese American martial arts star Donnie Yen. Even Denzel Washington’s “Book of Eli” is a variation on a “blind swordsman” theme.

The new Chinese thriller “Eye for an Eye: Blind Swordsman,” is another reminder that the character sort of belongs to the world now. But any slice-and-dice cinema fan knows there’s only one “real” “blind swordsman.” He’s a wandering masseuse in feudal Japan, and his name is Zatoichi.

In “Eye for an Eye,” this Chinese swordsman is named “Blind Cheng,” and he’s a “ghostkiller,” a bounty hunter in the Tang Dynasty. Cheng (Miao Xie) is a wandering grump, collecting bounties on malefactors the Dali Temple commissions him to bring in to the authorities.

What’s wrong with this suspect?

“I was afraid he might run,” he grumbles, in Mandarin with Engliish subtitles. “I broke his arms and legs.”

We meet him running afoul of the proprietor and henchmen of a gambling house — bad news for the bad guys. Later in the film, he finds himself entangled in a feud between families as a wine merchant maiden about to be married (Weiman Ga) barely survives her wedding party, after her rough customer
(Haosen Zhang) brother’s arrival invites the worst sort of wedding crashers.

Our swordsman is droll about his “special skills.”

“I have really good hearing.”

And he’s just as droll putting down a would-be challenger, grabbing the man’s blade out of his scabbard, noting “Your sword’s too sharp,” and advising the shocked goon to “be careful. You might hurt yourself.”

But as badass as the character always is, no matter what culture he emerges from, the action beats here tend to let “Eye for an Eye” down. The blur of blades and swirling capes don’t impress, the slo-mo punches and wirework martial arts pro forma and the odds never stack up so great that we ever fear for this fury’s safety.

Binjia Yang’s thriller is short and quick enough, with good production values and a great look. Martial arts period pieces always look cool in the snow. But it lacks the Spaghetti Western grace notes and tension that a picture with stand-offs and rising stakes and towering villains would have provided.

Miao Xie is quietly charismatic as the lead, but this never feels like more than an inferior Chinese copy of a Japanese classic.

Rating: unrated, sword-slicing violence

Cast: Miao Xie, Weiman Ga, Hao Xiang, Ben Liu and Haosen Zhang

Credits: Scripted and directed by
Bingjia Yang. A Hi-YAH!/Well Go USA release.

Running time: 1:14