Blades of the Guardians Review: Yuen Woo-ping’s Wuxia Spectacle
The Guardian reviews Blades of the Guardians, currently the most successful wuxia film in Chinese box office history. Directed by legendary fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, the film is praised for its impressive physical effects and exquisitely choreographed sword fights, prioritizing practical stunts over CGI. The narrative, set during the Sui dynasty and adapted from a comic book, features a tangled plot that serves primarily as a vehicle for action sequences. Megastar Wu Jing leads the cast as Dao Ma, a bounty hunter escorting a revolutionary, joined by action veterans like Jet Li and Tony Leung Ka-fai, alongside newer talents such as Yu Shi and Chen Lijun. While the review highlights the film's epic set-pieces, including battles in sandstorms and burning cities, it criticizes the lack of visual poetry in non-action scenes, describing the musical score as dreary and certain narrative elements as trite. Despite these flaws and a convoluted storyline involving proto-Communist themes, the film is recommended for hardcore wuxia fans who appreciate high-quality martial arts craftsmanship and star-studded performances.
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Blades of the Guardians Review: Yuen Woo-ping’s Wuxia Spectacle
The Guardian reviews Blades of the Guardians, currently the most successful wuxia film in Chinese box office history. Directed by legendary fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, the film is praised for its impressive physical effects and exquisitely choreographed sword fights, prioritizing practical stunts over CGI. The narrative, set during the Sui dynasty and adapted from a comic book, features a tangled plot that serves primarily as a vehicle for action sequences. Megastar Wu Jing leads the cast as Dao Ma, a bounty hunter escorting a revolutionary, joined by action veterans like Jet Li and Tony Leung Ka-fai, alongside newer talents such as Yu Shi and Chen Lijun. While the review highlights the film's epic set-pieces, including battles in sandstorms and burning cities, it criticizes the lack of visual poetry in non-action scenes, describing the musical score as dreary and certain narrative elements as trite. Despite these flaws and a convoluted storyline involving proto-Communist themes, the film is recommended for hardcore wuxia fans who appreciate high-quality martial arts craftsmanship and star-studded performances.
The Guardian