BROTHERHOOD OF BLADES | 繡春刀 (China, 2014)
Directed by: Lu Yang
Starring: Chang Chen, Cecilia Liu, Wang Qianyuan, Ethan Li, Nie Yuan

A one-in-a-million wuxia movie with all the reach and none of the extravagance of the biggest epics, Brotherhood of Blades leaves behind the genre’s flying swordsmen, weightless fantasy wirework, and dull speeches about brotherhood to deliver magnificent period action, drama, and characters that are motivated by cold cash and slain by cold steel rather than honor and the obligations of duty. Rich in historical detail and brutal in its depiction of violence, this dark blockbuster demands to be seen on the big screen.

It’s 1627: the Ming Dynasty is dying. The new emperor has exiled Wei, the almighty Chief Eunuch, who controls not just the secret police but a shadow organization consisting of court officials. Three imperial assassins are tasked with a late-night murder party to dispose of the Eunuch and his loyalists, but soon one of them is bribed to allow Wei to escape. Schemes within schemes follow, as gold flows like a poison and bodies fall like autumn leaves.

The swordplay in this film is earthbound, leg-breaking, elbow-to-the-chin, blade-to-the-guts action as 70-pound steel cleavers chew through soft flesh, and long, swooping Steadicam shots follow fighters through chaotic battles. The imperial assassins include Chang Chen (one of Taiwan’s great actors, best known for his work with Ang Lee, Wong Kar Wai, and Edward Yang), while Zhou Yi-wei is on hand as a honey badger of a blackmailer who just doesn’t give a damn. As old-school as Gunga Din or The Four Feathers, this is the wuxia film with the dust blasted off and the rust scraped from its edge. It cuts to the bone. It slices through brains. It delivers.