Any new movie from legendary action director Yuen Woo-Ping is cause for celebration, and this one is particularly memorable with the return of Jet Li, as well as fellow screen titans Nicholas Tse and Tony Ka Fai Leung. Arriving day and date on U.S. screens with its Chinese release, the new film boasts plenty of impressive action scenes, but also a worthwhile story based on the manhua Biao Ren.
Buy Blades of the Guardians Volume 1The story follows Dao Ma, a bounty hunter and the second-most-wanted fugitive in the land, who is tasked with escorting the most-wanted fugitive across perilous territory in China’s western desert. Wu Jing is decent in the lead role, getting plenty of mileage out of his bemused and wizened expressions, but he just doesn’t have the name recognition here or the physical presence to truly make an impact as the leading man. Thankfully, the plot has plenty of moving pieces, keeping other players in the mix throughout the film. The first big piece is Jet Li’s early minor role as an evil high-ranking official who gets in the way of our hero’s progression. He’s definitely showing his age, but he contributes a thrilling wuxia fight scene to quickly kick the film into gear.
Once Dao Ma gets out on his road trip, he’s joined by others in his caravan, including a young ward who helps to give the mission a bit of a Lone Wolf and Cub feel. In addition to other bounty hunters and soldiers looking to bring in both Dao and his escort package, he’s challenged by Nicholas Tse’s Di Ting, a fellow clansman who has taken a different path, setting up a showdown between sworn brothers. With seemingly all of China after him and shifting alliances wherever he turns, the story builds intrigue through to the satisfying finale.
Yuen’s direction is superb, keeping firm control of the narrative while seamlessly incorporating the stunning action set pieces. His action choreography team’s wuxia approach here leans to the practical, with limited wire fu, soundstages, or CGI in favor of realistic, bone-crunching fights played out against the spectacle of vast open spaces. It’s incredibly rewarding to witness the action choreography grand master marshal his large cast and crew to produce epic, realistic fights that serve the story. While quite a bit of artificial VFX is in play, especially during an inspired battle in a sandstorm, the overall integration is well above average and really doesn’t detract from Yuen’s quest for realism.
The film is likely to skew to the older martial arts fans due to the veteran talent involved, but it’s assembled with such skill and attention to plot, as well as impressive visual spectacle, that it’s an all-ages crowd-pleaser. Blades of the Guardians is now playing in limited theatrical release.
