Synopsis:
Legendary action master Yuen Woo-ping brings together martial arts icons Wu Jing, Nicholas Tse, Max Zhang, and Jet Li on an epic wuxia adventure across the desert sands. Bounty hunter Doa Ma takes a job escorting the empire’s most wanted man, Zhi Shi Lang, to Chang’an city. As word gets out, his group is hunted down by warriors across the land. The chase is relentless, the action is non-stop, and the blades cut deep.
What We Thought:
Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert has some absolutely incredible fight choreography, over-the-top action set pieces and an oil & fire fight that will have you in awe. Fans of the genre will eat it up.
The film stars a bunch of actors whose work I’m familiar with. Wu Jing I know from the Wolf Warrior films. Nicholas Tse I loved in Raging Fire with Donnie Yen. Plus it also features Tony Leung Ka-fai, Zhang Jin (Max Zhang), Jet Li, Kara Wai (who got her start in Shaw Brothers films) and many others.
If you’re looking for character development this film isn’t for you. In fact it probably has too many characters who all interact with one another and half of them serve no real purpose other than to get stabbed or flipped over. There are clans fighting and claiming land for each other. There are bounty hunters and guardians and warriors trying to capture a wanted man. There’s even personal vendettas that have people fighting one another one minute then helping each other the next.
Does it all make sense? Maybe not to me, but I don’t really care. I watch these films for the ridiculous action and set pieces. Half of the cast are the best of the best and fight choreography is incredible because of it. The oil & fire fight is stunning and the third act onslaught is just as good. I may not have understood who everyone was or what exactly was happening in Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert, but it doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. The action is top-notch, the production value is even better. I can see why it dominated the Chinese box office. If you are a fan of epic martial arts films then you’ll dig it too.
