It's not really a requirement but it really does help to be familiar with the Yang Family Generals legend before watching the movie. Yes the story is fast paced and there's limited development for every single character, but granted I felt that this movie was made for a audience that already know's watsup with the Yangs. The 7th son killing the son of the Pan family in a tournament, the rivalry between the Yangs and Pans, the war between the Chinese Song empire and the Khitan Liao, battle at Golden Sand Beach, the prophecy of 7 sons going into battle, etc
..these all were introduced within 25 min of the movie. For people who are already familiar with the folklore, this is like how Marvel fans watch the numerous Spider-man adaptions
.they may love it or hate it but always strong, close feelings to the source material. To people who never heard of the Yangs, it's probably too fast-paced to be appreciated or absorb fully to the narrative. The script isn't completely faithful to the origin story either as it switches from a patriotic campaign to recover lost land to a rescue mission of filial duty to save the Yang patriarch . Nonetheless, the spirit of the legend is still there. The key to enjoying the movie is not hoping that a single main character to stand out but to accept the 7 sons (and daddy Yang) as a integral entity and that they're fighting for each other and a common cause. It's really quite enjoyable as long as you're not expecting a grand treatment of a warrior family whose history suppose to span 3 generations. For a little over 2 hrs it's really not a bad job at all. Tung Wai's action was frenetic and brutal if not realistic enough to convey a certain mortal danger to all characters even the good guys. Adam Cheng impresses the most I thought. He was charismatic as Yang Ye, dignified yet humane. Ekin Cheng I thought was very effective as the stoic eldest son, who does brooding and commanding convincingly. Vic Chou was pretty damn cool as the almost silent 3rd son. The other sons were alright, they have their own moments but are overshadowed by Ekin and Vic. I thought the main villain Yelu Yuan by Shao Bing was underwhelming and generic. Xu Fan as Madam Yang was okay, she didn't really get to do much from the script except worry most of the time and weep at other times. There's some really good things like the Su Wu/Li Ling connection to Yang Ye, the breakout battle out of the siege, but some missed opportunities too (war breeds more misery angle could've been explored more of a theme, Pan Mei's enmity is more of a sideshow rather than the direct cause of the Yangs' tragedy) as the movie kinda does too much or not enough in a limited run time.
I would say it's really worth a watch.
I would say it's really worth a watch.