Dragon Blade is a fun, undemanding historical epic based upon a true story. The true story is that there was a Roman Empire, China exists and there was a Silk Road. Beyond that the film is an historical fantasy based around a Roman General on the run with the blind son of a consul and a few loyal men. He meets the disgraced Captain of a border patrol and together they..... well the plot really isn't important.
Basically Jackie Chan joins forces with John Cusack to defeat the evil Adrien Brody. There are lots of set pieces, good stunt work and some fun battles. Jackie Chan is funny, heroic and dependable as always in the lead role. Adrien Brody is suitably villainous and John Cusack plays John Cusack. It's not something worth going out of your way to watch but if it's on, Dragon Blade is a fun bit of mindless entertainment.
151 Reviews
Jackie Chan and John Cusack team up to defeat the evil Adrien Brody ...nuff said.
darrenbjones26 August 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Quite a bad movie
blueskyy_ng10 June 2015
I've read some of the reviews -- the bad reviews, I generally agree more, the good ones were often too exaggerated. Although I am not a master of the Chinese language, I'm able to understand both English and Chinese movies without subtitles, so I'd like to first address the title. I've no problem with the English title, whatsoever, but to the reviewer who said that it has something to do with lions? He's WRONG. If you want me to translate it, it's something along the lines of Top Gererals, Brave (Mightly) Armies (Troops).
Now, to my review. First, the good. The actors were good. The fight choreography was good. The cgi was good. That's pretty much it!
So, what was so wrong about the movie? The message of the movie is simple, to promote harmony among people despite the obvious differences in race, ethnicity, culture, creed, etc, etc. I get that! I have nothing against that either. The challenge however, is to incorporate that message seamlessly into the story without it feeling too forced or cliché -- and that was exactly how I felt when I watched some of those scenes.
But the bigger failure... is that the story makes absolutely no sense at all. It makes no sense to me how easily they could move and deploy their armies along the Silk Road from Rome to China or vice-versa. It makes no sense that they were all able to understand a common language, that is English. In ancient China, Chinese don't speak a common Chinese language, they speak different dialects. And if you add to the mix, the European languages, and the Middle Eastern languages, there is just no common ground in there for them to be able to understand each other.
It makes no sense that Jackie Chan is so trusty from the start (almost like a fool). It makes no sense that Adrien Brody would (for the sake of not spoiling) find himself eventually in that predicament. A lot of things that happened in between didn't make hell of a lot of sense either...
Now, to my review. First, the good. The actors were good. The fight choreography was good. The cgi was good. That's pretty much it!
So, what was so wrong about the movie? The message of the movie is simple, to promote harmony among people despite the obvious differences in race, ethnicity, culture, creed, etc, etc. I get that! I have nothing against that either. The challenge however, is to incorporate that message seamlessly into the story without it feeling too forced or cliché -- and that was exactly how I felt when I watched some of those scenes.
But the bigger failure... is that the story makes absolutely no sense at all. It makes no sense to me how easily they could move and deploy their armies along the Silk Road from Rome to China or vice-versa. It makes no sense that they were all able to understand a common language, that is English. In ancient China, Chinese don't speak a common Chinese language, they speak different dialects. And if you add to the mix, the European languages, and the Middle Eastern languages, there is just no common ground in there for them to be able to understand each other.
It makes no sense that Jackie Chan is so trusty from the start (almost like a fool). It makes no sense that Adrien Brody would (for the sake of not spoiling) find himself eventually in that predicament. A lot of things that happened in between didn't make hell of a lot of sense either...
Spaghetti Western meets 70's Martial Arts movie
michaeltime0027 February 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I'm not sure how seriously to take this movie. Not sure if it's poorly made, or genius. While the cinematography may leave something to be desired, I feel as though it's intentionally giving us that look to honor the older movies it seems influenced by. Over all an entertaining movie if you go into it with the right mindset. The fight scenes are exciting, and I kept waiting for Bruce Lee to show up, only to get shot by Clint Eastwood, while Mel Gibson rode by on his horse shouting Braveheart references. Jackie Chan continues to amaze at his age, and the other A- list actors make this movie more than worth your time. I might have to watch this one again.
Don't bother
grandmastersik20 November 2015
If ever anyone in the history of cinema has earned 2 hours of my life, it's Jackie Chan. Unfortunately, I was repaid this sentiment with two of the most horrible hours of cinema made in recent years.
When I heard of Romans fighting it out in the Silk Road, I liked the idea. But instead the film starts out with two Chinese historians (who speak English, naturally, since this is aimed at an international audience) searching for a lost city that the Romans built. The beginning is bad... ominously bad, and it only gets worse from there.
Rewind 2,000 years and with the tone set for a serious affair, until Jackie Chan adopts his usual "stunt-fu" in a fight scene completely out of place, but hey, it's Jackie Chan, so carry on.
Enter the Romans... John Cusack is his usual self but he seems to be accompanied by two of the most horrendous actors I've seen, in the guise of a child would-be Emporor and his male nanny. Actually, aside from Brody, Cusack and one or two Centurians, pretty much everyone who speaks English will make you cringe with how god-awful their "talent" is.
Anyway, the script's a total mess and for long periods, is actually very boring. Brody turns up as some power-craved maniac Emporor who didn't need to do anything bad since he was always going to be the Emporor anyway, and then we have a battle and, thankfully, the film ends.
Only, it doesn't. Instead, it goes back to the historian couple who enjoy the romantic scenery of the few sand-blasted columns remaining upright before they illogically announce that they'll never share their discovery, even though it's the whole point of their very existence!
Sigh. This film is just bad, illogical and painful and unless you're a die-hard Jackie Chan fan, I implore you to avoid it. For those of you who are Jackie Chan fans, just know that this is one of - if not THE worst film he's ever made and ask yourself: "Do you really want to taint your opinion of the great man by sitting through this?"
When I heard of Romans fighting it out in the Silk Road, I liked the idea. But instead the film starts out with two Chinese historians (who speak English, naturally, since this is aimed at an international audience) searching for a lost city that the Romans built. The beginning is bad... ominously bad, and it only gets worse from there.
Rewind 2,000 years and with the tone set for a serious affair, until Jackie Chan adopts his usual "stunt-fu" in a fight scene completely out of place, but hey, it's Jackie Chan, so carry on.
Enter the Romans... John Cusack is his usual self but he seems to be accompanied by two of the most horrendous actors I've seen, in the guise of a child would-be Emporor and his male nanny. Actually, aside from Brody, Cusack and one or two Centurians, pretty much everyone who speaks English will make you cringe with how god-awful their "talent" is.
Anyway, the script's a total mess and for long periods, is actually very boring. Brody turns up as some power-craved maniac Emporor who didn't need to do anything bad since he was always going to be the Emporor anyway, and then we have a battle and, thankfully, the film ends.
Only, it doesn't. Instead, it goes back to the historian couple who enjoy the romantic scenery of the few sand-blasted columns remaining upright before they illogically announce that they'll never share their discovery, even though it's the whole point of their very existence!
Sigh. This film is just bad, illogical and painful and unless you're a die-hard Jackie Chan fan, I implore you to avoid it. For those of you who are Jackie Chan fans, just know that this is one of - if not THE worst film he's ever made and ask yourself: "Do you really want to taint your opinion of the great man by sitting through this?"
Dragon Blade has some significant flaws, but its high production value might appeal to casual audience as mild crowd pleaser
quincytheodore20 February 2015
Epic historical war movies are easily marketable, they have a certain hook to captivate audience, especially when big budget and A-list actors are involved. Dragon Blade couples together many aspects from similar movies. With its grand production some of these work fairly well. However, it tries too hard to please viewers with inept script and poor direction that the movie becomes unoriginal, even to the point of cringe-worthy.
Huo An (Jackie Chan) is an officer of Silk Road tasked to maintain peace in a land divided by many countries. Soon, he's drawn by the turmoil and political struggle as conspiracy of Roman Empire knocks on his door step. The story admittedly has merits, there are a few subplots that are decent enough, although the pacing drags on way too much on unity issue. The main message that it wants to push is how many tribes or Silk Road can exist, this could be a great if the movie doesn't consistently shove it in the most heavy-handed way.
Jackie Chan is a star in his own right. He's not that well versed in acting, but audience would know what to expect at this point. John Cusack holds his own, but frankly he's not very interesting. The choice for child actor isn't that great either, this is an obvious bait to draw audience sympathy. Still, some of the Chinese actors are pretty good as they look more natural. Props to Adrien Brody, he alone raises the acting level. A beastly antagonist, he delivers a menacing on-screen persona.
For setting and costumes, the movie puts a lot of effort. Design is flamboyant, it almost looks like a high profile video game set. Each character has their distinct look which is quite appealing to showcase diversity. Choreography is fine as well, this is a strong point of Chinese movie. The fights are engaging with many details in movement, meticulous array of gimmick and different fighting style. At least it got the warfare department covered.
Cinematography, on the other hand, is bad till the point of cringe-worthy. The scenes are badly paced and often recycled, some scenes are even needlessly repeated several times. There's no logic on flashback of events that just occurred, it doesn't add to emotional value, instead it makes the movie that much boring. It also spams slow motion in insufferable rate, not to mention with overly aggressive soundtracks that attempt to sell the scenes with cheesy tone. It's as if the movie is constantly yelling, "Intense! Emotion! Sadness!"
Dragon Blade is an odd endeavor in epic historical film, it copies too many aspects of already known formula in hope that the success can be transmitted here. It has choppy direction and all sorts of issues, but the movie sometimes brings some good elements, which might just be enough for light entertainment.
Huo An (Jackie Chan) is an officer of Silk Road tasked to maintain peace in a land divided by many countries. Soon, he's drawn by the turmoil and political struggle as conspiracy of Roman Empire knocks on his door step. The story admittedly has merits, there are a few subplots that are decent enough, although the pacing drags on way too much on unity issue. The main message that it wants to push is how many tribes or Silk Road can exist, this could be a great if the movie doesn't consistently shove it in the most heavy-handed way.
Jackie Chan is a star in his own right. He's not that well versed in acting, but audience would know what to expect at this point. John Cusack holds his own, but frankly he's not very interesting. The choice for child actor isn't that great either, this is an obvious bait to draw audience sympathy. Still, some of the Chinese actors are pretty good as they look more natural. Props to Adrien Brody, he alone raises the acting level. A beastly antagonist, he delivers a menacing on-screen persona.
For setting and costumes, the movie puts a lot of effort. Design is flamboyant, it almost looks like a high profile video game set. Each character has their distinct look which is quite appealing to showcase diversity. Choreography is fine as well, this is a strong point of Chinese movie. The fights are engaging with many details in movement, meticulous array of gimmick and different fighting style. At least it got the warfare department covered.
Cinematography, on the other hand, is bad till the point of cringe-worthy. The scenes are badly paced and often recycled, some scenes are even needlessly repeated several times. There's no logic on flashback of events that just occurred, it doesn't add to emotional value, instead it makes the movie that much boring. It also spams slow motion in insufferable rate, not to mention with overly aggressive soundtracks that attempt to sell the scenes with cheesy tone. It's as if the movie is constantly yelling, "Intense! Emotion! Sadness!"
Dragon Blade is an odd endeavor in epic historical film, it copies too many aspects of already known formula in hope that the success can be transmitted here. It has choppy direction and all sorts of issues, but the movie sometimes brings some good elements, which might just be enough for light entertainment.
Just god-awful
nordrithal19 February 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I was invited to go see the Jackie Chan/Adrian Brody/John Cusack Chinese pseudo-historical period drama called Dragon Blade(though its Chinese title is more along the lines of "Day of the Lion" and has nothing to do with dragons or lions... confused yet? Just wait...).
In it Jackie Chan plays a guard commander on the Silk Road who absolutely refuses to use violence, which pretty much makes him the worst guard ever. John Cusack plays a super-tired looking Roman General on the run leading a Legion who all speak English but have what is supposed to be a stirring Roman "national anthem" which is in Latin. Oh, and even though it's the year 458 BC, Jackie Chan can still speak English... but more Chingrishy than usual (cringing intensifies). Adrian Brody plays a ridiculously evil Consul and was developed by someone who had absolutely no idea what a Roman Consul was and thought it was hereditary, thereby necessitating he kill his father and blind his little brother so that "he could never take power." Seriously, dude. You have to get elected every year... and usually have to wait 10 before running again... sigh... .
Consul Brody marches an army of 100,000 to conquer the Silk Road which is apparently about a day's hike even though it's like 8,000 miles away. Captain Chan and General Cusack strike up an unlikely and utterly unconvincing friendship to rebuild a city's outer walls, the Romans show how "smart" they are by wasting half their schedule constructing huge machines to do the work instead of using the ample labor supply available (it is, after all, a labor camp). The Legion and the "Silk Road Protection Squad" have what I thought of as a "Bring It On" style dance-off using their respective military drills, than that goes into a sparring match, and then hugs all around. And then they have a singing competition. No. Seriously. They have a singing competition... with a blind kid. In Latin. I made none of this up. .
Jackie Chan intermittently goes from being a super-boring goof ball a la everything Chan's ever been in... to the film randomly cutting back to confusing, only-semi-explained flashbacks to when he accidentally suffocated his sister to death as a child, and then stabbed a general in the side who tried to comfort him... all of this leading (somehow) to his deciding to protect the Silk Road using the power of nonviolence forever.
Then the "bad" Romans show up and the movie turns a 180 and goes into hyper-drive blood, death, and gore. That little blind kid? Thrown off the top of the city wall. John Cusack gets his eyes cut out, is crucified, and then is "mercifully" ended by Jackie Chan who breaks form to but an arrow through his neck (he then goes back to letting pretty much any and everyone kill for him and on his behalf until the end). Chan's impossibly-saintly teacher-wife takes 2 arrows in the back. There's a random, gruesome extreme closeup of a Roman soldier taking a Hun arrow in the face *through* a wooden plank. Huns (including the super-hot Lin Peng as Cold Moon), and 30-something other "races" all join together to fight the Eeevul Cosul Adrian Brody, and it's like something directly out of The Hobbit #3 with a flipping horde of eagles gouging eyes out, and doomed last stands. .
Adrian Brody stabs his grandfather and almost beheads Jackie Chan, but then Chan does something with the weird little arm guard he's worn the whole movie (even though his whole squad is shown to practice with sweet swords that can be thrown and retracted, they are used once, ONCE the whole film. Brody gets his neck slashed, but opt to keep Jackie's kill could at 1 by then taking his dagger and stabbing himself in the heart while mumbling the (completely made up) Roman national anthem again. Then the remaining Romans and the member of the 30-whatever nations all join up to keep the SIlk Road safe and war-free for everyone. .
The film is bookended by explorers who find the ruins of the city, and then decide not to tell anyone and keep it a secret... *even though that's their whole job. Their ONLY job.* .
The End. .
I haven't seen a movie this unfocused, confused, and just... bad... in a long while. If you find yourself in my position, with someone offering you a free ticket... Just. Say. No. Say no to terrible cinematography.
. I wish I had extra hands so I could give this movie four thumbs down.
In it Jackie Chan plays a guard commander on the Silk Road who absolutely refuses to use violence, which pretty much makes him the worst guard ever. John Cusack plays a super-tired looking Roman General on the run leading a Legion who all speak English but have what is supposed to be a stirring Roman "national anthem" which is in Latin. Oh, and even though it's the year 458 BC, Jackie Chan can still speak English... but more Chingrishy than usual (cringing intensifies). Adrian Brody plays a ridiculously evil Consul and was developed by someone who had absolutely no idea what a Roman Consul was and thought it was hereditary, thereby necessitating he kill his father and blind his little brother so that "he could never take power." Seriously, dude. You have to get elected every year... and usually have to wait 10 before running again... sigh... .
Consul Brody marches an army of 100,000 to conquer the Silk Road which is apparently about a day's hike even though it's like 8,000 miles away. Captain Chan and General Cusack strike up an unlikely and utterly unconvincing friendship to rebuild a city's outer walls, the Romans show how "smart" they are by wasting half their schedule constructing huge machines to do the work instead of using the ample labor supply available (it is, after all, a labor camp). The Legion and the "Silk Road Protection Squad" have what I thought of as a "Bring It On" style dance-off using their respective military drills, than that goes into a sparring match, and then hugs all around. And then they have a singing competition. No. Seriously. They have a singing competition... with a blind kid. In Latin. I made none of this up. .
Jackie Chan intermittently goes from being a super-boring goof ball a la everything Chan's ever been in... to the film randomly cutting back to confusing, only-semi-explained flashbacks to when he accidentally suffocated his sister to death as a child, and then stabbed a general in the side who tried to comfort him... all of this leading (somehow) to his deciding to protect the Silk Road using the power of nonviolence forever.
Then the "bad" Romans show up and the movie turns a 180 and goes into hyper-drive blood, death, and gore. That little blind kid? Thrown off the top of the city wall. John Cusack gets his eyes cut out, is crucified, and then is "mercifully" ended by Jackie Chan who breaks form to but an arrow through his neck (he then goes back to letting pretty much any and everyone kill for him and on his behalf until the end). Chan's impossibly-saintly teacher-wife takes 2 arrows in the back. There's a random, gruesome extreme closeup of a Roman soldier taking a Hun arrow in the face *through* a wooden plank. Huns (including the super-hot Lin Peng as Cold Moon), and 30-something other "races" all join together to fight the Eeevul Cosul Adrian Brody, and it's like something directly out of The Hobbit #3 with a flipping horde of eagles gouging eyes out, and doomed last stands. .
Adrian Brody stabs his grandfather and almost beheads Jackie Chan, but then Chan does something with the weird little arm guard he's worn the whole movie (even though his whole squad is shown to practice with sweet swords that can be thrown and retracted, they are used once, ONCE the whole film. Brody gets his neck slashed, but opt to keep Jackie's kill could at 1 by then taking his dagger and stabbing himself in the heart while mumbling the (completely made up) Roman national anthem again. Then the remaining Romans and the member of the 30-whatever nations all join up to keep the SIlk Road safe and war-free for everyone. .
The film is bookended by explorers who find the ruins of the city, and then decide not to tell anyone and keep it a secret... *even though that's their whole job. Their ONLY job.* .
The End. .
I haven't seen a movie this unfocused, confused, and just... bad... in a long while. If you find yourself in my position, with someone offering you a free ticket... Just. Say. No. Say no to terrible cinematography.
. I wish I had extra hands so I could give this movie four thumbs down.
Awesomely Bad
chasydmarich-647-8821914 September 2015
Read a review claiming Dragon Blade achieved "so bad it's good" status. Wow, did it ever! Imagine if Sharknado (the dethroned champion of "so bad it's good) had a $65 million budget.
This movie had a lot of good going for it. Jackie Chan is an amazing action star, made famous by his "stunt fighting" which he excels at in this movie. The production value was really top notch - sets, costumes, cinematography, special effects, all of it was quite impressive.
Where this movie fails on every level is the writing and the acting. I could go into great detail but I think the best comparison is the cheesy, campy entertainment that is the SyFy original movie.
Adrien Brody and John Cusack must have signed onto this movie like all the A-list celebrities back in the 80s making Japanese commercials for a quick buck, certain that no one in America would ever see them.
This movie had a lot of good going for it. Jackie Chan is an amazing action star, made famous by his "stunt fighting" which he excels at in this movie. The production value was really top notch - sets, costumes, cinematography, special effects, all of it was quite impressive.
Where this movie fails on every level is the writing and the acting. I could go into great detail but I think the best comparison is the cheesy, campy entertainment that is the SyFy original movie.
Adrien Brody and John Cusack must have signed onto this movie like all the A-list celebrities back in the 80s making Japanese commercials for a quick buck, certain that no one in America would ever see them.
Good Choreography, side jokes. Horrible script, story development
joshuaxie199321 February 2015
While the main message of the movie was about multi-cultural peace (probably what the world needs now), choreography was good (nothing less than expected from a J.C. movie), side jokes to make you giggle from this otherwise boring plot, nothing else about the movie was able to redeem it from it's cliché story progression and bad script.
1) The message about multicultural peace was smacked right in audience faces left, right, up, down from the beginning of the show. To make things worst, coupled with cheesy lines, it made a profound and wise motif seem plain cheesy, overly-simplified and lacked the depth it should have had.
2) Despite the strong development of major characters, minor/side characters were not grounded enough. Fickle change in beliefs by side characters (people of the Wild Geese Gate), once again, made the story look superficial and badly developed.
Unfortunately, great choreography, scene shots and strong casts could not save it from its draggy, underdeveloped plot and horrible script.
1) The message about multicultural peace was smacked right in audience faces left, right, up, down from the beginning of the show. To make things worst, coupled with cheesy lines, it made a profound and wise motif seem plain cheesy, overly-simplified and lacked the depth it should have had.
2) Despite the strong development of major characters, minor/side characters were not grounded enough. Fickle change in beliefs by side characters (people of the Wild Geese Gate), once again, made the story look superficial and badly developed.
Unfortunately, great choreography, scene shots and strong casts could not save it from its draggy, underdeveloped plot and horrible script.
Surprising..
johnericdoysabas9 June 2015
It caught me by surprise! Not really a favorable film for critics but I did really enjoyed this film! That was really surprising. Romans, Chinese, Arabs, and Indians in this one historical epic. I mean how cool is that? I really thought this is just one of those straight to DVD kind of crap were Chan, Cusack and Brody is teaming up for an Chinese Historical Epic just for pure marketing type of sh*t. At first, OK I see JC doing his own thing making this epic into comedy or whatever, but then the tone gets too serious dramatically. I love films with good bonds and brotherhood. This is one of those films even with the most cheesiest screenplay and awkward moments, I still enjoyed watching it. And the fight scenes are very well choreographed with less shaky cams which is a good thing to me ( I hate shaky cams ). Heard this is the most expensive film ever made in China, well I never doubt of that. I can see the high production value in this. And kill me but I love the performances on this one. Cusack is okay, I know he is a really good actor, but I was surprised how great Brody in here as a villain. He is really good in this film. And Chan, he still got it! I was thinking this is the best JC comeback film yet. Overall this is a great watch for all Jackie Chan fanatics and for everyone who loves action films and historical epics with great action sequences. The good thing is, I was not bored and the pacing keeps me into it. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with it, and a must watch guilty pleasure.
Only for Jackie's Hard-Core Fans
misha_kerogazov31 July 2020
The story in the movie is a complete mess. I'm not going to go into details, but if you are considering watching this movie, you must have already accepted that legions of Romans in China is OK. It would be more plausible if they shifted the accent a bit more into fantasy (e.g. different kingdoms, one is more like Roman Empire and another like China, but not actual countries), so there are not so many complaints about historical inaccuracies, but it is what is and according to them, it's based on historical facts. There are also a bit too many secondary undeveloped characters.
So, as the title says, you would enjoy it if you just watch it for Jackie. The sword fights are pretty good; other fights, well some are not bad, some are meh. I watched it to the end, skipped only a few times, overall not his worst movie, but far from his best one.
Summary: Recommended only for true Jackie Chan's fans.
So, as the title says, you would enjoy it if you just watch it for Jackie. The sword fights are pretty good; other fights, well some are not bad, some are meh. I watched it to the end, skipped only a few times, overall not his worst movie, but far from his best one.
Summary: Recommended only for true Jackie Chan's fans.
disappointed
sandy_mcnair26 February 2015
I wont describe the actual movie here as you will be able to read other reviews already published. I will however will try to avoid you suffering the pain I have just gone through.
I was very disappointed in this movie, perhaps because I expected better from a movie with John Cusack, Adrien Brody, Jackie Chan. Perhaps I should have looked at who was directing the movie such as Daniel Lee and the typical movies he has made.... or maybe it was because the movie was just "really" bad.
I watched the movie on a quiet Wednesday night and I would estimate that a third of the audience left well before the end, some really early. When the credits came up it was like a fire evacuation alert had just came on. Please, Women and Children first.. We will all survive!
Jackie Chan fight scenes were well below par and I thought they were more like a "Charlie Chaplin/Harold Loyd" Silent movie style rather than a "Rush Hour" style.
John Cusack character was extremely boring and I could have fallen asleep in I was at home.
Adrien Brody was the only positive in the movie, but the movie was so bad that his acting was lost.
The child actor was badly filmed (always) like an old Asian hero film and I found the child annoying.
The production and cinematography of the film are cringe-worthy throughout. flashbacks are random and not in line with story. Slow motions are extensive and really annoying.
Recommendation - Go and see something else.
I was very disappointed in this movie, perhaps because I expected better from a movie with John Cusack, Adrien Brody, Jackie Chan. Perhaps I should have looked at who was directing the movie such as Daniel Lee and the typical movies he has made.... or maybe it was because the movie was just "really" bad.
I watched the movie on a quiet Wednesday night and I would estimate that a third of the audience left well before the end, some really early. When the credits came up it was like a fire evacuation alert had just came on. Please, Women and Children first.. We will all survive!
Jackie Chan fight scenes were well below par and I thought they were more like a "Charlie Chaplin/Harold Loyd" Silent movie style rather than a "Rush Hour" style.
John Cusack character was extremely boring and I could have fallen asleep in I was at home.
Adrien Brody was the only positive in the movie, but the movie was so bad that his acting was lost.
The child actor was badly filmed (always) like an old Asian hero film and I found the child annoying.
The production and cinematography of the film are cringe-worthy throughout. flashbacks are random and not in line with story. Slow motions are extensive and really annoying.
Recommendation - Go and see something else.
One of the Best films I have seen from Jackie Chan in a long time
tigdrgn019 March 2015
Allow me to start by saying if you are expecting a non stop action fight film....Don't. This film is one build on story not action. The fight scenes are good but not the best for modern day film goers.
The film depicts events on the Silk Road involving Chinese, Roman, and other countries who travel and protect this region.
I have read other reviews on here concerning this film and give it a low rating due to non-action scenes. This film is not a blow them up and add more dynamite type of film. It makes one think.
Jackie Chan has begun a long line of historical films, that have been ranked low on his career but its these films that he is most proud of. They show a history of China and its surrounding regions that most people in the west would never hear of.
The film depicts events on the Silk Road involving Chinese, Roman, and other countries who travel and protect this region.
I have read other reviews on here concerning this film and give it a low rating due to non-action scenes. This film is not a blow them up and add more dynamite type of film. It makes one think.
Jackie Chan has begun a long line of historical films, that have been ranked low on his career but its these films that he is most proud of. They show a history of China and its surrounding regions that most people in the west would never hear of.
A good mix of Western and Chinese traditional style
info-258-384858 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I took bit more time to think about this movie, some of the reviewers don't see this movie as something, let's say promising", but I had some nice time watching it. In few short line I will try to say my opinion why this movie is actually one of first to break Chinese wall" in film industry.
Now, can you think back in year 2005 and The Myth" movie or 2004 Blade of Kings" and question yourself what is difference between those movies and this one? If you didn't notice it's a bit of Western-style touch that was brought in movie by Adrien Brody and John Cusack. Until now I really didn't have feeling of reality in the sense that the characters in the film does not fly, jump on trees or do impossible moves with swords. In Dragon Blade (originally titled Tian jiang xiong shi"), first time we can see a practical acting and dialogs which gives viewer story to hold no.
*just bit of spoilers* After the first general view of the movie, now it's time to look at the characters and acting. I can't forget painful face of Adrien Brody from The Jacket", he can inspire me so good to think about what he's going trough that it's almost painful for me. He is playing the character of Tiberious, brother of Publius, heir of the Roman consul for the Parthian Empire. He is evil or maybe more like wicked brother and will do everything to get on desired place and after killing his father he is on hunt for little brother. Tiberious plan fails because of Lucius (played by John Cusack) who took Publius and his army to hide little heir from certain death. For me John is an actor who can't be placed in a "strong" role, although the scene of his character is striking, we can feel a dose of discomfort in his acting.
Now let's go to main actor Jackie Chan, playing the role of Huo An, the commander of the Protection Squad of the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty. His acting is good, could be better, but still we can see how his character is supported by the extensive experience of acting. As Huo An he is playing main role of movie and trying to maintain stability between the warring 36 nations in the Silk Road region, well that is hard and sometime he need to take action.
When you look back and think about what i have told you until now you can say its OK movie according to this dude", but there is something that still need to be improved and its the presence of a strong female character. We have many female actors, still they are less than supporting characters of story. Sharni Vinson (The Queen) has only few min or less on-screen and Mika Wang (Huo An's Wife) is more like side story actor.
If all things are considered, the movie is worth watching even though it will not appeal to everyone.
Now, can you think back in year 2005 and The Myth" movie or 2004 Blade of Kings" and question yourself what is difference between those movies and this one? If you didn't notice it's a bit of Western-style touch that was brought in movie by Adrien Brody and John Cusack. Until now I really didn't have feeling of reality in the sense that the characters in the film does not fly, jump on trees or do impossible moves with swords. In Dragon Blade (originally titled Tian jiang xiong shi"), first time we can see a practical acting and dialogs which gives viewer story to hold no.
*just bit of spoilers* After the first general view of the movie, now it's time to look at the characters and acting. I can't forget painful face of Adrien Brody from The Jacket", he can inspire me so good to think about what he's going trough that it's almost painful for me. He is playing the character of Tiberious, brother of Publius, heir of the Roman consul for the Parthian Empire. He is evil or maybe more like wicked brother and will do everything to get on desired place and after killing his father he is on hunt for little brother. Tiberious plan fails because of Lucius (played by John Cusack) who took Publius and his army to hide little heir from certain death. For me John is an actor who can't be placed in a "strong" role, although the scene of his character is striking, we can feel a dose of discomfort in his acting.
Now let's go to main actor Jackie Chan, playing the role of Huo An, the commander of the Protection Squad of the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty. His acting is good, could be better, but still we can see how his character is supported by the extensive experience of acting. As Huo An he is playing main role of movie and trying to maintain stability between the warring 36 nations in the Silk Road region, well that is hard and sometime he need to take action.
When you look back and think about what i have told you until now you can say its OK movie according to this dude", but there is something that still need to be improved and its the presence of a strong female character. We have many female actors, still they are less than supporting characters of story. Sharni Vinson (The Queen) has only few min or less on-screen and Mika Wang (Huo An's Wife) is more like side story actor.
If all things are considered, the movie is worth watching even though it will not appeal to everyone.
Martial arts mess
gfrancis015 February 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Amazing that something like this would do over $100 million in China, especially considering that I believe movie tickets there are roughly $5. First the good. This is probably the most expensive set and costume design I have ever seen in a martial arts flick, that is why it got 2 stars. If you like sword fighting, then you might enjoy this. Now for the bad, quite the long list. LOTS of subtitles, including signs and songs, probably 70% of the movie is in Chinese. Yes SONGS, I guess they are supposed to be inspiring or something. The movie opens with two guys sticking their swords in the ground as a truce, then shortly after that those two guys stand off for a "fight to the death, no way to avoid it" situation. Boy, I wonder who is gonna win? Why would you put a flash forward to ruin that scene? That is typical to the way this thing is put together. To top it off, the plot makes zero sense. Chan and his men are sentenced to hard labor rebuilding a city on the Great Wall, within 10 minutes of getting there Chan is now in charge? WTF? All of a sudden they have 15 days to rebuild giant stone walls and buildings or they will be executed. This is supposed to be 50 BC and the work they have to do would take a modern crew of 100 masons probably 3 months or more. But with the help of the Romans, we can do it! What a crock. And in the middle of this building frenzy, Chan decides to have his guys put on a demo of their martial arts, so the Romans also do a demonstration, followed by two individual stick battles, followed by a Roman giving a Chinese guy a sword because it was a great fight. WTF AGAIN! Yes they are supposed to be bonding, but it is just stupid. And over and over, like it was written by a 5th grader with ADHD. Not buying John Cusack or Adrian Brody as top class soldiers either, sorry guys, even though the use of stunt doubles is not obvious. Half the time during fights everyone is just slapping the other guy with their swords. Even the fake blood looks like raspberry jam for some reason, making that look real is not tough to do. Chan accidentally removes some important lady's scarf while she is trying to kill him, so he MUST apologize, when he does so in private, she drops everything to be naked in front of him, what? He of course does his awkward embarrassed act and backs away, that seems like an even bigger insult to me, but I guess NOT! The Roman kid could not be more annoying, what an incredibly lame plot device, egads. I think you get the idea, don't bother unless you really like lavish sets with sword fighting. I think the sign at the end: "make friends from enemies" is supposed to be the moral of the story or some crap, but the entire thing is pointless. Maybe it should read "How I turned a Million Dollars in Real Estate into $100 in Cash", to steal a joke from Steve Martin.
A great movie ! (Indonesian Review)
chindysosmed25 February 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Positive : . + Bring a deep message to the viewer in every part. + The story was unpredictable.
+ Great skill of those actors.
+ Action scene(as usually Jackie's movie) so tricky and cool + Great soundtrack.
Negative :.
Overall, I love this movie !
+ Great skill of those actors.
+ Action scene(as usually Jackie's movie) so tricky and cool + Great soundtrack.
Negative :.
- Tiberius has no great skill to fight Jackie.
- Need more actor resources.
- Perhaps, Jackie should asked Shun Oguri to take Siwon part.
Overall, I love this movie !
Unadulterated equine excrement...
stuart_davies30 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
At first I thought it was going to be the sort of romp seen in previous Jackie Chan movies with plenty of tongue in cheek and humour punctuated action. However about a third of the way through I began to realise that this movie is actually trying to be serious in spite of the appalling script and ridiculous plot. The messages it tries to send about friendship, race relations and honour are naive, if not childish, in their portrayal and out of context in the attempted Machiavellian machinations in the storyline. By the end of the film, I was overloaded with cliché and plot twists as untwisty and transparent as to be eye-wateringly unbelievable in their absurdity. On numerous occasions throughout the movie I felt embarrassed for actors such as Adrian Brody and John Cusack and wondered how they would explain their part in such drivel to their friends and relatives without dying of shame. I can only imagine the money they earned was worth the ridicule should their participation in this abomination become widely known. I'm now going to go and curl up in a ball, rock gently backwards and forwards and try to forget having been assaulted with over two hours of this equine excrement.
Jackie is still great
bononista24 February 2015
Anyone expecting Jackie to do his own stunts at this point is unrealistic and not been paying attention. He has already said he would be doing no more films the fact that we have Dragon Blade in 2015 is a blessing. I can barely wait to get this on DVD Original Language w/English Subs. I've been awaiting the release of this film for quite some time and I'm glad it's finally hit the screens. Happy New Year! What I would really like to see is more of the older original films released back in original language with English subtitles (I can't watched the English dubbed films its just too awful to do to any martial arts film). I would like to see Jackie and Jet Li in one more film before Jackie truly retires. The Forbidden Kingdom was Excellent.
Epic Journey
dinterpreting23 August 2015
I have to admit the acting left a lot to be desired except for John Cusack. John Cusack elevated the whole film. If you love Jakie Chan fight scenes you'll likely find some enjoyment in the choreography that no one else does like him. I really liked the cinematography. The sweeping scenes, the architecture, the look of all the different tribes. There was also an idea that I found very redeeming in the movie. The possibility of what we could create if we all came together. I liked the friendship between the two leaders. I'll give a shout out to the warrior woman too!! To tell you the truth I have nothing left to add but regretfully I have to write ten lines of stuff to get this review accepted. So I'll just write whatever in the hopes that the main part of my review will be accepted. Thank you for reading!!!
A mish-mash of stuff, but some of it works
Leofwine_draca18 June 2016
DRAGON BLADE isn't a great film at all, but given that the previous Jackie Chan film I watched was Chinese ZODIAC, it seems somewhat acceptable by comparison. Certainly it's a messy movie, which is typical of Jackie's more recent efforts, but it has some good stuff included alongside all of the tat. The story is supposedly based on historical fact and involves some Roman soldiers who traverse the Silk Road and find themselves in China. They're split into two factions, the small number of good guys and the overwhelming bad, and the good guys end up joining forces with Jackie and his men to fight the enemy. What DRAGON BLADE boils down to is a heady mix of laughable sentiment, Chinese comedy, war and battle sequences, and some very bad acting.
Jackie himself doesn't really seem to do much that's new in this film. The director throws in a few of his old-fashioned fight scenes to recall his glory days, and while the action is acceptable, it's never memorable. It's the western actors who do surprisingly well: Adrien Brody as the quietly menacing villain, and John Cusack as the likable ally. Some of the set-piece sequences are well-handled, like the building of the defences, and the large-scale action at the climax is quite a lot of fun. I was glad to see that director Daniel Lee has calmed down since the days of DRAGON SQUAD and can now direct reasonable fare like this and THREE KINGDOMS: RESURRECTION OF THE DRAGON. DRAGON BLADE isn't perfect by any means, but there's a good film hiding underneath the mish-mash of styles and ideas.
Jackie himself doesn't really seem to do much that's new in this film. The director throws in a few of his old-fashioned fight scenes to recall his glory days, and while the action is acceptable, it's never memorable. It's the western actors who do surprisingly well: Adrien Brody as the quietly menacing villain, and John Cusack as the likable ally. Some of the set-piece sequences are well-handled, like the building of the defences, and the large-scale action at the climax is quite a lot of fun. I was glad to see that director Daniel Lee has calmed down since the days of DRAGON SQUAD and can now direct reasonable fare like this and THREE KINGDOMS: RESURRECTION OF THE DRAGON. DRAGON BLADE isn't perfect by any means, but there's a good film hiding underneath the mish-mash of styles and ideas.
Absolutely wonderful and refreshing film about War, Peace, Philosophy, Morals and so much more.
angiris12 March 2015
This kind of film truly reminds me why I enjoy Asian cinema. This take here...the mix of martial arts and Jackie Chan, Jet Li kind of sword play (typical Chinese which as awesome), mixed cast from various nations to throw in so many nations and trifles in just 2 hours and actually not make it feel rushed nor boring at ANY time whatsoever. Now that is something I find truly impressive and extremely refreshing.
Jackie Chan as this peaceful and helpful man who seeks to create peace and assist others. "Turn foes into friends" as the movie so eloquently states in the end. John Cusack as the Roman General on the run with the young brother of another roman general (adrien Brody who's the bad guy here which he does a wonderful job portraying) Various other people ending up to join the fray of power, greed, jealousy and so much more. It's all great, people! It's great entertainment and it keeps you interested and captivated through each step of the film. It makes you pumped up during the fight sequences which are very well done, effects, costumes and basically the visuals of this are astounding. Its a beautiful and yet raw looking film. Gritty...which really allows you to immersive yourself into this epic...and I stress that word...EPIC film.
I personally see this as a definitive 8 out of 10. Its more than good. Its more than great. It's in my opinion flat out fantastic and most of all so because it has GREAT replay value. Its entertaining, captivating, got great action, ambitious and passionate story, great cast and it is filmed very very well.
Definitely worth a watch AT LEAST once. Wonderful film. I'm very happy I decided to watch this one. There are so many big budget films nowadays that simply are so heavy and dragged out in their story telling and basically you'll watch it once...walk away without air in your lungs not because you're blown away...but because you are literally exhausted just watching the same...old...boring...cliché story.
THIS... strays from all of that! And thus I'm rating it 8. Damn good film, people. Another thing is also you never get the weird feeling that Jackie Chan who's quite the comedy actor is here as the action hero. Quite the contrary he makes it work extremely well. Sure he has some funny scenes and he makes the action super good like you'd expect. But overall...he's doing damn good in this kind of film.
Daniel Lee. Thank you so much for making this film. And thanks to all who helped and participated.
Jackie Chan as this peaceful and helpful man who seeks to create peace and assist others. "Turn foes into friends" as the movie so eloquently states in the end. John Cusack as the Roman General on the run with the young brother of another roman general (adrien Brody who's the bad guy here which he does a wonderful job portraying) Various other people ending up to join the fray of power, greed, jealousy and so much more. It's all great, people! It's great entertainment and it keeps you interested and captivated through each step of the film. It makes you pumped up during the fight sequences which are very well done, effects, costumes and basically the visuals of this are astounding. Its a beautiful and yet raw looking film. Gritty...which really allows you to immersive yourself into this epic...and I stress that word...EPIC film.
I personally see this as a definitive 8 out of 10. Its more than good. Its more than great. It's in my opinion flat out fantastic and most of all so because it has GREAT replay value. Its entertaining, captivating, got great action, ambitious and passionate story, great cast and it is filmed very very well.
Definitely worth a watch AT LEAST once. Wonderful film. I'm very happy I decided to watch this one. There are so many big budget films nowadays that simply are so heavy and dragged out in their story telling and basically you'll watch it once...walk away without air in your lungs not because you're blown away...but because you are literally exhausted just watching the same...old...boring...cliché story.
THIS... strays from all of that! And thus I'm rating it 8. Damn good film, people. Another thing is also you never get the weird feeling that Jackie Chan who's quite the comedy actor is here as the action hero. Quite the contrary he makes it work extremely well. Sure he has some funny scenes and he makes the action super good like you'd expect. But overall...he's doing damn good in this kind of film.
Daniel Lee. Thank you so much for making this film. And thanks to all who helped and participated.
Come on, it's a MOVIE
myzhou20 June 2015
Warning: Spoilers
When I saw someone say he don't like the movie because "Roman General on the run leading a Legion who all speak English"...I have to say its just too much for a movie for fun. I hope the writer have seen some great movie like Gladiator, or some great drama like Rome(HBO), or even Battlestar Galactica... yes those people on another planet also speak English.
The movie is not so bad as some of Jacky Chan's last several works, but still not so good as some of his early works. I give 6/10.
If you like this movie, I advice another Daniel Lee's movie Three Kingdom. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0882978. The director is very good at mix western cartoon style with eastern painting vision.
The movie is not so bad as some of Jacky Chan's last several works, but still not so good as some of his early works. I give 6/10.
If you like this movie, I advice another Daniel Lee's movie Three Kingdom. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0882978. The director is very good at mix western cartoon style with eastern painting vision.
Awful story, poor acting, and major plot holes
jasonguinn7899 September 2015
I was excited to see this flick with such a solid cast and interesting story. This movie was terrible.
The story is poorly written and the dialogue is laughably bad. For the first half of the movie I had no idea what was going on, who was fighting or why, or how the Romans spoke American English! Within the first 15 minutes there are two drawn out fight sequences that make little to no sense and this is followed by a lot of fast cuts, bad dialogue, and things strung together so poorly I was like, "What the hell is going on?" And it never gets better. One reviewer said there is no shaky cam in the movie-- there is. Jackie acts like he always does to the point you know what's going to happen before it does. The humor falls flat and the acting is so poor form such talented actors that I got the feeling they were in this for the money.
Do not see this movie. If you want to see some good Chinese action there are much better options than this thing from everyone involved. I tried to enjoy it, but couldn't even make it through the film--I ended up stopping it about midway through.
Awful.
The story is poorly written and the dialogue is laughably bad. For the first half of the movie I had no idea what was going on, who was fighting or why, or how the Romans spoke American English! Within the first 15 minutes there are two drawn out fight sequences that make little to no sense and this is followed by a lot of fast cuts, bad dialogue, and things strung together so poorly I was like, "What the hell is going on?" And it never gets better. One reviewer said there is no shaky cam in the movie-- there is. Jackie acts like he always does to the point you know what's going to happen before it does. The humor falls flat and the acting is so poor form such talented actors that I got the feeling they were in this for the money.
Do not see this movie. If you want to see some good Chinese action there are much better options than this thing from everyone involved. I tried to enjoy it, but couldn't even make it through the film--I ended up stopping it about midway through.
Awful.
Epic War and Heartwarming Story
fatemaster200322 February 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Probably to almost anyone, seeing the trailer of Dragon Blade for a couple of times might piqued your interest, especially when you see a couple of A-list actors and actresses in it. Most notably are Jackie Chan, John Cusack, Adrien Brody and Choi Si Won (one of ex-member from K-Pop band, Super Junior).
While most of the review I've seen here is pretty much saying this one is an utter disappointment, I for myself personally don't think so.
To me, Jackie Chan along with Daniel Lee has managed to pull this out quite remarkably. Their choices for the actors are good, because each one of 'em could play the role nicely. They could get into their role so deep, you would think they were re-enacting a piece of story from their personal life.
Maybe there is a couple of flaws here and there, like the ruin in the very beginning of the show that's not old enough and for another keen eyes, this might kill the mood, because basically, we were promised a story that (might) happened thousand years ago. But truth be told, it was not really a problem, since the ruin itself is just a fake one, created to fit into the real story of Silk Road.
Story-wise, some of you might find it cheesy and predictable. Some of you might even say that the character Chan played (Huo An), was unbelievably too kind, like he was just character from a fairytale. Is it really like that? If you follow the story and try to delve into the character of Huo An, to every tragedy ever happened to him (told in the story), you might understand why he always talk about peace.
Or maybe how Cusack was not cut out for the role of Roman Empire general, Lucius? Don't think so. He actually played the role real good, he could showed how it feels to be betrayed, to hate and to trust. Brody as the villain Tiberius, has also done a very great job. You could see his character in a whole new way, the way he lust for power and ambitions. The twisted way of a mad man ready to betray (and kill, as already told in the trailer) his own family.
How about the fight and the war scenes or any other details? I won't go into more detail about those topics and it's best if you go watch it yourself. You should, because as predictable as it was, the morale of the story is very touching and heartwarming.
It's true, peace between races and nations might be a naive topic these days, but I honestly think, it is actually very nice. I think, this is how Chan convey his own ideal to the real world, about how all nations should be united and not be in conflict with each other.
All in all, I give this movie 10/10. A must watch!
While most of the review I've seen here is pretty much saying this one is an utter disappointment, I for myself personally don't think so.
To me, Jackie Chan along with Daniel Lee has managed to pull this out quite remarkably. Their choices for the actors are good, because each one of 'em could play the role nicely. They could get into their role so deep, you would think they were re-enacting a piece of story from their personal life.
Maybe there is a couple of flaws here and there, like the ruin in the very beginning of the show that's not old enough and for another keen eyes, this might kill the mood, because basically, we were promised a story that (might) happened thousand years ago. But truth be told, it was not really a problem, since the ruin itself is just a fake one, created to fit into the real story of Silk Road.
Story-wise, some of you might find it cheesy and predictable. Some of you might even say that the character Chan played (Huo An), was unbelievably too kind, like he was just character from a fairytale. Is it really like that? If you follow the story and try to delve into the character of Huo An, to every tragedy ever happened to him (told in the story), you might understand why he always talk about peace.
Or maybe how Cusack was not cut out for the role of Roman Empire general, Lucius? Don't think so. He actually played the role real good, he could showed how it feels to be betrayed, to hate and to trust. Brody as the villain Tiberius, has also done a very great job. You could see his character in a whole new way, the way he lust for power and ambitions. The twisted way of a mad man ready to betray (and kill, as already told in the trailer) his own family.
How about the fight and the war scenes or any other details? I won't go into more detail about those topics and it's best if you go watch it yourself. You should, because as predictable as it was, the morale of the story is very touching and heartwarming.
It's true, peace between races and nations might be a naive topic these days, but I honestly think, it is actually very nice. I think, this is how Chan convey his own ideal to the real world, about how all nations should be united and not be in conflict with each other.
All in all, I give this movie 10/10. A must watch!
The reviews of this movie highlight why whimsy has died in cinema.
rejecigurxabu17 January 2016
Let me set one thing straight before I begin this review, I am not here to defend this movie's honour, indeed I can see that it does have a great many flaws. However it is absolutely undeserving of many of the criticisms put forth in other reviews and I feel that someone has to put the record straight, and call out a worrying trend.
This movie was not perfect, it was mechanically sound, the acting while nowhere near award winning, was human enough I could enjoy it, and the choreography and special effects though they rarely came into play were even enjoyable. All this could be fairly pointed out to add to a product that is sub par, and yet what are almost all the most vehement protractors of this film gnashing their teeth about? The realism! Yes in a fantasy martial arts movie people are concerned with the plot, with geography, with trifling details.
Now look, I understand people having personal preferences for more grounded realistic movies. I also understand how some people cannot suspend their disbelief over such a mighty chasm, but to call this movie terrible, garbage, or any other pejorative for that is simply wrong. It is wrong, because it misses what this movie, and movies like it are supposed to be. Like many older films out of china, what this movie is striving to be is a throwback to idealized legends. To stories who's actors are idealistic people, who embody ideals and provide a moral message. This kind of storytelling is present in nearly all culture's legends and tales. This is what I like to term as a whimsical film. Now I admit it is not a shining example for all to follow, but it needs to be judged by other standards. Just as a romcom needs to be judged by different standards than that of true cinematic brilliance. A movie like this doesn't have to be realistic, it shouldn't be. Furthermore to see so many people demanding realism, expecting everything must play out like a well thought out novel frankly saddens me. It saddens me because I fear that this prevalent attitude is why we get so few movies these days that are willing to be silly, to be unrealistic, to give us idealistic and hopelessly unworkable moral lessons.
Maybe you disagree, maybe you think I'm a blithering idiot so full of sh*t it's pouring out my mouth. That's okay too, but please, next time you see a fantasy movie like this, please try to enjoy the flow and the essence of the movie, before resorting to cold literary analysis of it.
Anyways to wrap up this rant disguised as a review, my personal thoughts on the movie were that it was enjoyable, though I'd hesitate to recommend it to anyone but people who share my love of fantastic and improbable meetings of ancient cultures for a fantasy romp. 6/10 it's okay.
This movie was not perfect, it was mechanically sound, the acting while nowhere near award winning, was human enough I could enjoy it, and the choreography and special effects though they rarely came into play were even enjoyable. All this could be fairly pointed out to add to a product that is sub par, and yet what are almost all the most vehement protractors of this film gnashing their teeth about? The realism! Yes in a fantasy martial arts movie people are concerned with the plot, with geography, with trifling details.
Now look, I understand people having personal preferences for more grounded realistic movies. I also understand how some people cannot suspend their disbelief over such a mighty chasm, but to call this movie terrible, garbage, or any other pejorative for that is simply wrong. It is wrong, because it misses what this movie, and movies like it are supposed to be. Like many older films out of china, what this movie is striving to be is a throwback to idealized legends. To stories who's actors are idealistic people, who embody ideals and provide a moral message. This kind of storytelling is present in nearly all culture's legends and tales. This is what I like to term as a whimsical film. Now I admit it is not a shining example for all to follow, but it needs to be judged by other standards. Just as a romcom needs to be judged by different standards than that of true cinematic brilliance. A movie like this doesn't have to be realistic, it shouldn't be. Furthermore to see so many people demanding realism, expecting everything must play out like a well thought out novel frankly saddens me. It saddens me because I fear that this prevalent attitude is why we get so few movies these days that are willing to be silly, to be unrealistic, to give us idealistic and hopelessly unworkable moral lessons.
Maybe you disagree, maybe you think I'm a blithering idiot so full of sh*t it's pouring out my mouth. That's okay too, but please, next time you see a fantasy movie like this, please try to enjoy the flow and the essence of the movie, before resorting to cold literary analysis of it.
Anyways to wrap up this rant disguised as a review, my personal thoughts on the movie were that it was enjoyable, though I'd hesitate to recommend it to anyone but people who share my love of fantastic and improbable meetings of ancient cultures for a fantasy romp. 6/10 it's okay.
I hope it paid well ...
TwoWardrobes16 January 2016
Imagine a Chinese production of Flash Gordon, set in the ancient Orient, with a bit of gore and a musical set-piece. That's pretty much this film. Supposedly based on Chinese 'history', it's actually badly camouflaged propaganda (as are most of the 9 or 10 star reviews on here). I chuckled through most of it, which would have been a good thing if it was a comedy. The scale and the way it is beautifully shot are let down by the ridiculous plot, p*ss-poor dialogue and haphazard editing.
John Cusack looks like he just woke up on set and is going along with things until he can figure out how he got there.
Jackie Chan sings. He sings a song of peace. Then he cries. Don't worry though, his little tune is sandwiched by plenty of slapstick fighting.
Adrian Brody got so immersed in his 'bad guy' role that he didn't notice how out-of-place somebody acting looks in this film. Or that nobody could be that much of an utter, utter b*stard.
At the heart of it is a pretty simple, and noble, multicultural peace message. If you can figure out what the f**k is going on at any one time, or why anybody was fighting in the first place, then that may resonate with you.
All in all, it's a big sloppy mess of a film.
John Cusack looks like he just woke up on set and is going along with things until he can figure out how he got there.
Jackie Chan sings. He sings a song of peace. Then he cries. Don't worry though, his little tune is sandwiched by plenty of slapstick fighting.
Adrian Brody got so immersed in his 'bad guy' role that he didn't notice how out-of-place somebody acting looks in this film. Or that nobody could be that much of an utter, utter b*stard.
At the heart of it is a pretty simple, and noble, multicultural peace message. If you can figure out what the f**k is going on at any one time, or why anybody was fighting in the first place, then that may resonate with you.
All in all, it's a big sloppy mess of a film.
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