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Dao Ma, the "second most wanted fugitive," 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.
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Character
Classical in form, relentless, grave and plot-driven.
- classical in formformally daring
- contemplativerelentless
- gravecomic
- character-ledplot-driven
- intimateepic
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“Is the nostalgia doing the heavy lifting?”
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“Is Wu Jing the best thing in Blades of the Guardians?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- MovieGuyson TMDB · Jul 20266/10
"Blades of the Guardians" follows in the footsteps of what could be characterised, in terms of genre, as "Chinese Westerns". It's a similar formula to the spaghetti Western. A rough-hewn, lone wolf character, with a questionable past, who, overcoming their personal shortcomings and trauma, ends up doing the right thing by others in need. This film's single biggest claim to fame is action. It's relentless, with wave after wave of frenetic, polished martial arts action. Given this film is set in the classic period of China's long history, this is combined with swordplay and archery to good effect. By all means watch this film just for these elements; it's an amazing watch. Where this film falls down somewhat is in the storytelling department. The characters' motivations are married up to an impoverished back story that does leave the film feeling a little contextually empty. The space is occupied largely by exposition. In summary, compelling martial arts action is front and centre in Blades of the Guardians. It's just a shame a little more effort had not been spent developing a rich backstory to complement it. As it stands, a 6/10 from me.
Read the whole review on TMDB - CinemaSerfon TMDB · Apr 20266/10
"Dao Ma" (Jing Wu) is quite merrily collecting bounties with his young friend "Xiao Qi" (Charles Ju) until he is summoned by a local governor with a proposition and subsequently, having killed the man, is forced to seek refuge amongst his friends in a remote mountain village. It is there that they ask him to return the favour by escorting "Zhi Shi Lang" (the unseen Sun Yizhou) - dressed in white robes and with a painted face mask akin to an harlequin, on a perilous journey across the Taklamakan. Unaware of the true significance of his companion, they set off only to find that they are now wanted by just about every other bounty hunter on the face of the Earth as well as by the Imperial authorities of "Gen. Pei" (Yi Zhang). Luckily, the duo have the help of the feisty and skilful archer "Anuya" (Chen Lijun) as they combat all comers. Then when they encounter the engimatic swordsman "Jade Faced Ghost" (Nicholas Tse) whose side we are never quite sure he is on, we find the odds evened up a bit and the story of the fleeing freedom fighter begins to bed in. There is no shortage of action here, indeed the thing races along energetically for two hours but somehow the characterisations jus
Read the whole review on TMDB - Zeuson TMDB · Jul 20269/10
9/10 stars review ratings from me; it is a well deserve review. It's been a long time since the movie 14Blades, Red Cliff etc. And 2026 is just the right year to have a great movie like this to appear. No nonsense fight scenes Great cinematography and it just feels right on every angle that you look at it. There is a few twist .. on the plot but not to heavy that makes you confuse. All in all, its a splendid watch.
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Cast
- Wu JingDao Ma
- Nicholas Tse Ting-FungDi Ting
- Chen LijunAyuya
- Yu ShiShu
- Sun YizhouZhishilang
- Li YunxiaoMs. Yanzi
- Ju QianlangXiao Qi
- Ci ShaHeyi Xuan
- Tony Leung Ka-faiOld Mo
- Max ZhangDouble-headed Snake
Crew
- Yuen Woo-pingDirector
- Su ChaobinWriter
- Larry YangWriter
- Yu BaimeiWriter
- Tony Cheung Tung-LeungDirector of Photography
- Steffen ThumOriginal Music Composer
- Lau TikProducer
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
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