Blades of the Guardians Review: Martial Arts Epic

Yuen Woo-Ping’s Blades of the Guardians is an exciting martial arts epic full of fun characters and impressively choreographed action.

Wu Jing plays desert bandit Dao Ma, who spends his days either capturing villains and taking the bounty or extorting criminals in order to make even more money. He gets into trouble, though, when he ends up fighting against local governor Chang Guiren (Jet Li) alongside another swordsman, and is forced to flee with his really young apprentice Xiao Qi (Charles Ju).

Thus, a bounty is put on his head, turning Dao into the second most wanted criminal along the Silk Road. But when tribal leader Chief Mo (Tony Leung Ka-fai) asks him to escort rebel leader Zhi Shi Lang (Sun Yizhou) to the city, he cannot refuse. So, he takes on the mission and is accompanied by Mo’s feisty daughter Ayuya (Chen Lijun). Unfortunately, the latter is being chased by a dangerous and powerful suitor, Heyi Xuan (Cisha), and Ma himself by a group of mercenaries led by Di Ting (Nicholas Tse), another ex-soldier. Impressive fight scenes, exciting swordplay and tense chases follow.

Blades of the Guardians’ plot may sound a tad complex, but Woo-Ping and his team do a solid enough job to convey everything they need to convey in a direct fashion. Despite having plenty of main and secondary characters, the film never feels confusing, with the screenplay, credited to Tai-Lee Chan, Chao-Bin Su, Larry Yang and Baimei Yu, making sure there’s enough development for at least some of the more important figures. The rest of the characters, though, are a bit more archetypical, which is a bit disappointing, but at the same time, strangely appropriate for a historical epic such as this.

Moreover, despite being a bit over-the-top at times, Blades of the Guardians works on a dramatic level. I particularly enjoyed the interplay between swordsmen; consider, for example, an early scene between Wu Jing’s Ma and Jet Li’s Chang, which establishes the latter’s worldview and the main reason why he gets involved in the film’s central conflict. Maybe viewers more experienced in epic Asian cinema or wuxia productions may find some of the narrative to be rather pedestrian, but I still think it’s well-structured enough for it to work on a basic, emotional level.

After all, most audiences tend to watch a film such as Blades of the Guardians for the action, and in that sense, it doesn’t disappoint. It’s always satisfying to watch a movie in which fight scenes are shot clearly, with purpose and style, taking advantage of the physical skills of its actors. Only a couple of bouts make use of chaotic shaky cam – I assume, because its players aren’t actually skilled martial artists – but the rest let the characters move, maim and kill (the movie’s bloodier than I expected) with abandon. I particularly enjoyed the fight between Li and the two swordsmen (the former still has the moves!), as well as a bout in the middle of the desert, with the characters surrounded by fire, and of course, the final (and rather wet) confrontation.

If there’s anything that might feel disappointing about Blades of the Guardians, though, it’s its lighting work. In short: the film feels extremely digital, not only because of its image clarity and lack of texture (despite some detailed costume designs), but also because of its flat lighting. Most scenes are lit too brightly, lacking in shadow and detail, and quite surprisingly, making some of the sets look fake. I know it’s more cost-effective and practical to shoot digitally nowadays, but that doesn’t mean modern movies can’t be lit and shot with style. Woo-Ping’s direction is as effective and exciting as it can be, but the way the film has been lit unfortunately betrays its director’s ambitions.

Nevertheless, I can’t say I didn’t have tonnes of fun with Blades of the Guardians. One doesn’t need to know anything about the Sui dynasty or Chinese history in general in order to enjoy the film. The story is simple enough and the characters archetypal enough for them all to be understandable both for inexperienced Westerners and genre-savvy audiences, and the action is just too awesome for anyone to get bored by the proceedings. Blades of the Guardians is one of the best martial arts epics I’ve seen in a long time, and further proof that Woo-Ping is not only a legendary action choreographer, but also a great filmmaker to boot.

Blades of the Guardians is out now in theaters in the U.S. and Canada.