Movie Review: 14 Blades

Date: 6 Feb 10
Time: 9:20
Location: GV Plaza

Kaki: MLSA
Rating: 3.5stars
Language: Chinese (with English & Chinese Subtitles)

Synopsis:
Trained in clandestine combat from childhood, the Jinyiwei were masters of the 14 Blades. Above the law and with a license to kill, they devoted their lives and lethal prowess to the service of the Emperor alone.

When the Imperial Court is taken over by evil eunuch JIA, the best of the Jinhyiwei, QINGLONG is assigned to steal a list identifying those still loyal to the Emperor. Unbeknownst to Qinglong, the Jinyiwei have fallen under the control of Jia, and during the mission he's betrayed and barely escapes with his life.

Now as the most wanted man in the land Qinglong must seek out and rally the loyalists to rise against Jia and restore the Emperor to power. In his way are the deadliest assassins in the land, his former brethren, the Jinyiwei.

Review:

There were good moments and there were crap moments. The good - the fight scenes live up to expectations and were up to standard (barring some 3D effects, especially when fighting with Tuo Tuo, a Lady Assassin)... The not so good includes the fact that I would have preferred if they had given me some background on what "style" of fighting they adopted, like, all the JinYiWei taught the legendary "XXXX" KungFu that only the Imperial guards trained in... or something like that. Cuz some of the JingYiWei looked like normal peng kia when they were fighting. For instance, Donnie Yen and some of his opponents, in particular, the fight scene one-third into the show, where he fought with this guy who seemed to specialized in the Tiger Claw, if there were context, that would have been great...

Oh.. the crap moments.. I feel bad for Wu Chun, I really do. Especially since I love his idol drama - Hanakimi, with Ella from SHE. But hor... if you tell me you're a desert man, and you already have pretty boy looks, added to the fact that you look soo fair, like you've hardly spend time in the sun.. adds to a rather jarring effect. Also, the accent and the "THE SKY EAGLES ARE HERE" shout... ends up adding comic relief more than anything. For his virgin movie performance, I would say, his pretty boy looks are actually against him this time.

To be absolutely fair, I have the same fear for Lee Hom in the Little Big Soldier.. sometimes, when one is too pretty.. it's a little tough to act as the tough man - just think of Julian Cheng and his dimples.. when he's trying to be a gangster, I think of a little boy trying to play police and thief...

Now I am wondering, for the Chinese New Year Eve Movie that I generally catch on Reunion night with my siblings, if it should be

A) Little Big Solder - there's Jackie Chan

B) True Legend - there's Zhao Wen Zhuo

C) 72 Tenants of Prosperity - starring many people from HKG, anchored by Eric Tsang, Jackie Cheung and Anita Yuen

D) All Well's that End's Well - starring the remaining people from HKG (who are not in the 72 Tenants), anchored by Raymond Wong, Sandra Ng and Louis Koo

Any comments on which has higher potential? Hmm... well... maybe should have left 14 Blades to be the movie to watch... since I typically enjoy Donnie Yen movies...