14 Blades

Starring: Donnie Yen, Kate Tsui, Wu Ma, Damian Lau, Sammo Hung

Synopsis:

Qinglong is a member of the Jinyiwei, the Emperor’s own enforcers who were tasked with carrying out interrogations and executions. As leader, he is bestowed with an oblong wooden box containing 14 blades with which to carry out his duties.

When the Imperial court is usurped by the evil eunuch Jia, Qinglong is assigned to steal a list identifying those still loyal to the Emperor. But, unknown to him, members of the Jinyiwei have fallen under the control of Jia, and he finds himself betrayed and framed. Now a wanted man, Qinglong must find a way to restore the Emperor to power. Along the way he makes some surprising allies, but standing in his way are his former brethren, the deadly Jinyiwei...

Review:

Donnie Yen has had a couple of high-profile successes of late, with Ip Man and Bodyguards and Assassins, and his run is likely to continue with this entertaining wire-fu epic.

I’m on record in these parts as not being a fan of wire-assisted kung fu – the likes of Hero just bore me to tears. However, the “wire-work” here is mainly in assisting in the destruction of the sets, as the protagonists kick and punch at each other with devastating effect, knocking down walls and smashing through supporting timbers. This is more in the spirit of Iron Monkey, Tai Chi Master and Last Hero in China.

Qinglong is probably Donnie’s most stoic character yet. Raised and trained by the Jinyiwei, his earliest memory is being forced to kill his own brother in a duel to the death. During an early montage, we see the grim realities of his role – ensuring disgraced officials commit suicide, often lending an unflinching hand when theirs tremble so much they can hardly hold the knife to their throats. He is a soldier ant, never questioning his orders – as long as they are authentic. A nice scene early on sees him being commanded by the chief Eunuch, Jia, but he won’t move a muscle until he sees the order is authenticated with the royal seal. As usual Donnie excels in the fight scenes, which are very varied. His box of 14 blades acts like Batman’s utility belt at times, releasing just the right blade for each occasion, and sometimes firing rope darts to pull him out of the way. Qinglong also uses his fists and feet to great effect, and in one memorable scene, takes out a bunch of bandits with a chicken leg and some bitch-slaps to the face.

Wei Zhou plays Qiao Hua, a young woman betrothed to be married in order to save her father’s armed escort business. She’s unhappy because she’s rather help directly with the business, and she knows that her intended husband is a serial adulterer. She falls in love with Qinglong, and willingly helps him in his endeavours although officially he’s taken her hostage as part of his cover. She has a nice comical scene where she impersonates Qinglong to push the buttons of some guards to see how they react. Using pieces of previous conversations she’s able to pull off the hard, nihilistic attitude note perfect. Its similar to the scene in Collateral where Jamie Fox impersonates Tom Cruise.

The gorgeous Kate Tsui (Eye in the Sky) plays Tuo Tuo (pronounced Two Two), the adoptive daughter of Prince Qing (Sammo Hung in a cameo appearance) and deadly assassin. Her fighting technique involves her distracting her foes by slipping in and out of her many layers of clothes, which drift unaided through the air when discarded. She also has a deadly snake-like whip which she uses to great effect. She proves to be just as adept with her mind as she is with her weapons.

Chun Wu plays The Judge of the Desert, leader of a gang of bandits who plans to rob a convoy, and mistakenly thinks Qinglong is after the same goal. Chun Wu recently held his own in the decent romantic kung fu comedy, Assassin’s Blade (aka Butterfly Lovers). Here he is a lot better, with much more interesting fight choreography, and some excellent weaponry.

14 Blades has a number of different settings, all used to good effect and party to some serious collateral damage, starting with the big palaces and moving on through forests and graveyards until arriving at a dusty border town. This section of the film feels like a weird blend of Sergio Leone spaghetti western and Arabian Nights fantasy – especially considering some of the characters’ costumes. There are some nice “birds-eye” views, as the camera swoops from one character to another on the other side of the town.

Everything comes to a head with a couple of big fights. Will Qinglong retrieve his dignity by killing his betrayers? Will Qiao Hua’s love be requited? Will the evil Prince Qing be thwarted? Being a HK movie, where the outcome is never certain...who knows?

Verdict:

An excellent kung fu blockbuster, 14 Blades is full of style, energy and a touch of humour. Donnie Yen is still the man, Kate Tsui is gorgeous and deadly and Chun Wu continues to impress. Fans of the likes of Iron Monkey Tai Chi Master and Last Hero in China will certainly enjoy this.

8 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)