Blades of the Guardians Review: A Martial Arts Masterpiece with Swords and Spectacle
Blades of the Guardians, directed by the legendary fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, has recently soared to become the most successful wuxia film of all time at the Chinese box office. This impressive cinematic offering delivers a breathtaking spectacle, packed with epic set-pieces that prioritise physical effects over CGI, alongside a wealth of exquisitely choreographed fight scenes predominantly featuring swords, as the title aptly suggests.
A Veteran Director and Stellar Cast
Helmed by Yuen Woo-ping, renowned in the West for his work on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the Matrix series, and Kill Bill, and revered in Asia for classics like Drunken Master and Iron Monkey, the film places megastar Wu Jing at its core. Wu Jing, who rose to fame in the 1990s collaborating with Yuen on Tai Chi Boxer, leads a cast filled with action-movie stalwarts.
The ensemble includes Jet Li as a levitating evil general, Tony Leung Ka-fai as a noble father, alongside emerging talents such as popstar-actor Yu Shi as a bounty hunter and Chinese opera star Chen Lijun as a plucky, bow-wielding princess. With this formidable lineup and scores of extras, the narrative takes a backseat to the sheer enjoyment of the cinematic hullabaloo.
Plot and Action Highlights
True to wuxia tradition, the plot is a ridiculously tangled web of subplots, adapted from a popular comic book and set during the medieval Sui dynasty. Wu Jing portrays Dao Ma, a soldier-turned-bounty hunter journeying the countryside with his young nephew Xiao Qi. He accepts a mission to escort Zhishilang (Sun Yizhou), a masked revolutionary espousing proto-Communist egalitarian ideals but lacking combat prowess.
Most characters either join or clash with this travelling party, culminating in spectacular action sequences. Highlights feature a mass battle amidst a sandstorm and climactic fisticuffs against the backdrop of a burning city. The film incorporates elements like earth, wind, and fire, though water serves more as a passive obstacle than an active force.
Visual and Musical Elements
On the downside, Yuen demonstrates less flair for visual poetry compared to some past collaborators, rendering the interludes between martial arts displays somewhat basic and occasionally trite. For instance, a shot of cherry blossoms splattered with blood feels clichéd, and the musical score is often overwrought and dreary. However, these shortcomings are unlikely to deter hardcore wuxia enthusiasts.
Blades of the Guardians is set to captivate UK and Irish audiences in cinemas from 17 April, offering a must-see experience for fans of martial arts cinema.
