Director: Yuen Woo-ping
Writers: Tai-Lee Chan, Chao-bin Su, Larry Yang
Stars: Jing Wu, Nicholas Tse, Jet Li
Synopsis: Dao Ma, the “second most wanted fugitive,” who is entrusted by his benefactor, the chief of Mo family clan, to take on a mysterious escort mission-escorting the “most wanted fugitive,” to Chang’an.
Yuen Woo-ping’s Blades of the Guardians might have set a record for the times I said, “Hell yeah!” during the course of a film. While that accomplishment is certainly not the lone merit the film enjoys, it stands as an excellent entry in the wuxia subgenre of martial arts films.
Despite being 80 years old, director Yuen proves he still has what it takes to deliver action spectacle, even under today’s action-movie standards. Blessed with his years of personal experience, a more than capable cast of actors, and the affording of a big-budget, Yuen delivers an action film to rival his multitude of classics in the genre.
Even with all that action adventure, there needs to be a semblance of plot, which Blades of the Guardians has in spades. Bounty hunter Dao Ma (Wu Jing) spends his days bringing in wanted bandits alongside his young nephew, Xiao Qi (Charles Ju). Dao Ma’s benefactor, Lao Mo (Tony Leung Ka-fai), asks him to escort the most wanted fugitive, Zhi Shilang (Sun Yizhou), to safety across the desert.
Joining Dao Ma is Lao Mo’s daughter, Ayuya (Chen Lijun), who has recently broken off her engagement to a powerful family leader, Xeyi Xuan (CiSha). As they flee, the group runs into the mysterious swordsman Shu (Yosh Yu), who is bringing in the sultry Yan Zuniang (Li Yunxiao). As political lines shift, one of Dao Ma’s former compatriots, Di Ting (Nicholas Tse), throws his hat in the ring in order to get their hands on Zhi Shilang.
All of that doesn’t really matter. It’s just a means to an end in order to get everyone fighting. And boy, do they ever fight. Gone are the shaky cam fights of the early 2000s. Instead of the gravity-defying acrobats of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (also choreographed by Yuen), we are treated to down and dirty martial arts with little suspension of disbelief. On the whole, these fights seem feasible in reality. At one point, Jet Li shows up as an evil regional governor just to have an excellent fight scene, and then goes away. And that’s in the first 20 minutes! If you can dispense with Jet Li after 20 minutes and still have another 100 minutes to go, you know you have something special on your hands.
Yuen utilizes the underseen parts of the Chinese landscape to give his film (and fight scenes) texture and substance. In a scene seemingly inspired by Mad Max: Fury Road, the group attempts to escape into a sandstorm to evade a caravan of pursuers. Dao Ma and Di Ting have an epic sword and martial arts fight as the sand whips around them and dust devils take the characters off their feet. It’s a perfectly crafted scene of imagination and innovation. Obviously filled with a mix of practical and visual effects, each progressive scene looks incredible and feels that much more impressive.
There is too much plot, and the various factions and former battalions blend together, but that doesn’t matter when you have the world’s coolest decapitation scene. It doesn’t matter if the audience is confused on the character allegiances…did you see the sword fight with oil and fire? Yuen has made a career of filling the frame with well-versed and easy-to-follow action sequences. Why did he decide to bog down the film with excess plot? Who cares? Look at that lady shoot arrows on horseback!
That action wouldn’t work if there weren’t charismatic actors doing the work. Wu, in particular, maintains a stoic heroism essential to the film’s success. Yu shows up as what seems to be a secondary character, to eventually emerge as the co-lead. Lijun might do the most impressive work as a righteously avenging angel of beauty and capability, while Li and Leung get the most weighty of scenes. All actors are very impressive physically and non-physically.Blades of the Guardians is just too freaking cool. Don’t get too worried about the plot mechanisms, you’ll catch up eventually. Just sit back and take in the first-class martial arts action adventure.
