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Title: Brotherhood of Blades (2014)
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| Credited cast: | |||
| Chen Chang | ... | Shen Lian | |
| Shih-Chieh King | ... | Wei Zhongxian | |
| Dong-xue Li | ... | Jin Yichuan | |
| Shi Shi Liu | ... | Zhou Miaotong (as Shishi Liu) | |
| Yuan Nie | ... | Zhao Jingzhong | |
| Qianyuan Wang | ... | Lu Jianxing | |
| Xiaobo Yang | ... | Chen Jiamo | |
| Qing Ye | ... | Zhang Yan | |
| Xiangming Ye | ... | Emperor Chongzhen | |
| Lixin Zhao | ... | Han Kuang | |
| Yiwei Zhou | ... | Ding Xiu (as Yi Wei Zhou) | |
| Dan Zhu | ... | Wei Ting (as Zhu Dan) | |
This is a movie set in the late Ming Dynasty. The 3 main characters are all elite guards for the palace. One of their fellow guardsmen goes bad. His former companions must now forget their bond and apprehend him. But are they being lured into a larger conspiracy against their emperor? Written by Jeff Latawiec
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With the betrayal and corruption theme, Brotherhood of the Blades resembles a gangster movie set in modern era, though the choice on making it with martial art effect was a sound one. It delivers the story with different perspectives of the main characters equally, as well as admirable action sequences. Nonetheless, it is bogged down by a couple of unrealistic characterizations. There are several subplots which are simply hard to relate to, especially when these characters act in such excessively theatrical manner.
Story revolves around three brothers who work as elite officers, occasionally moonlighting as assassins. Despite the dangerous line of work, they are still troubled by various issues, mostly pertaining money. When a chance to gain riches comes, with life-threatening conspiracy behind it, they must decide how to deal with the precarious situation. The film is at its best when it depicts the three leads continuously.
Each of them has their own problem, their actions have further consequences that affect the others. This results in a mild wit battle against the villain, though it's not fully realized. Acting for the leading role is good, these brothers are sympathetic and easy to cheer for, mainly since everyone else is completely corrupt. Unfortunately, this shared spotlight doesn't always work. At some points the subplots are reaching too far and the acting performance suffer from it.
Supporting characters like the courtesan occasionally acts in blank stare or unidentifiable emotion. Others seem like they are shoehorned to bolster the cast or vilified just for the sake of creating unlikeable personas. Not only that, these on-screen characters also make awful decisions. For a movie with a lot tension and drama, these moments feel forced and exhausting to watch.
Choreography is still great, a boon for martial art movie. The action moves fluidly and precisely. I personally like how the film is very confident on how it uses terrains or weapons for the spectacle. Brotherhood of Blades could've been better if it had used more restraint on a couple of its subplots, nevertheless the mix of crime drama and stylish martial art will entertain the fans of this genre.