The Warlords 投名狀 by Peter Chan Ho Sun (2007)
15 February 2008A gorgeous and moving remake of Chang Cheh’s classic BLOOD BROTHERS (which was a better title for this film) about 3 sworn brothers who are torn apart by infidelity and want of power. The film also features some intense and nasty battles, but that is not what the film is about. And I just loved the spectacular look and feel which has a grit and dirtiness we see everywhere which makes this feel so much more real. And it is so cool to see Jet Li see such a flawed character, who is only out for himself. He is amazing, and if he wants to make movies like this I can see why he has given up making straight martial arts films, because he is just so damn good in films like this as he was in Hero This is the best dramatic performance I have ever seen out of a martial arts acting, leaping him from action start to true actor. This epic saga is a must see, even if we know what will happen (it is a remake after all), as this is one of the best looking films I have ever seen, and an instant classic. I would really be surprised to not see this winning some awards, because it certainly deserves them.
Jet Li plays General Pang Qing Yun a general in the Qing army fighting the Taiping Rebels, but his men and he were betrayed by another army on their side who help back from battle, and so his men were slaughtered and he played dead to survive, and slink away. He walks away a dead man, and starts following a beautiful woman named Lian (Xu Jinglei), who gets wary, so he passes her, but collapses. He awakens in an abandoned house with the girl giving him soup and taking care of him. He learns she was trained to be a courtesan, but her childhood friend stole her away as she was to be sold, and now she lives with the bandit, but has run away many times, as she did this time. In the night she comes over to his bed and holds him, but when he awakens she is gone. He heads to the village and sells his armor and sword and goes to find food, but Jiang Wu Yang (Kaneshiro Takeshi) rides into town with his bandits, trading food for people to join them, and he recognizes Pang’s boots of a general, and gets him to join them in an attack on Qing soldiers for their supplies along with his elder brother Zhao Er Hu (Andy Lau Tak Wah). The battle is fierce, and Jiang is almost killed, but Pang saves him and kills the leader, so they take the supplies and head back to their village. There Pang sees Lian and finds out she is Zhao’s wife. They want him to join, but don’t know if he will, and then the QIng attack and take their supplies back, and Pang convinces them to join the Qing army so they can be strong, and that they will only be gone for 3 years and will return powerful men. The three become Blood Brothers and leave with 180 men, though one group refuses to join the Ching and heads off to join the Taipings.
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS….
Pang takes his brothers and his troops to his old leaders, and they join the army, and head out, declaring he will have a quick victory over a city they have wanted for some time. Pang concocts a plan that will be very dangerous and will put many of his men into harm as they have to rush the gunners so their archers can take them out and they can take the larger force.Jiang volunteers for the mission as he believes heavily in Pang, and the attack starts and they do take out the gunners at high cost and then Zhao rushes out against Pang’s orders, but Pang goes too and single handedly takes out all the canons, but they are all surrounded, but then the other army on their side decides they will go in, as they will never have another chance to take the city, and the battle is won, though Pang is wounded.
Pang then decides to push the campaign on to the next big fortified city, and wants to win quickly, but 5 years after the have started they are still at war, and they have sieged this city for 8 months. Pang takes Jiang to go get supplies and guns, and Zhao decides to sneak into the city to try and end things, saying goodbye to Lin and going in, just before Pang returns having gotten 10 days of food and weapons from the same army that deserted him in the beginning who is waiting back to get the spoils. Zhao fights the leader of city who lets himself be killed, on the condition that Zhao spare the 4000 soldiers inside, including the ones who left the village so long ago. Zhao aggrees and the gates are opened, but Pang will have none of it. He already slept with Lian after he returned, and now he puts Zhao in shackles and executes the 4000 immediately so he can push on the rebels city of Nanking and take it quickly so he can get the spoils. Zhao wants out, but Jiang and Pang convince him to stay for the brotherhood, and he does and they quickly take Nanking and become important men. Jiang sees that Lian is cheating on Zhao though, and Pang doesn’t want to give the spoils to the troops, but Zhao does.
At the capital Pang is getting accolades, and is made Governor and stops the taxes for 4 years so the people can recover from the war, but people hint that he must kill Zhao as he disobeyed him. Pang sets up Zhao and has him killed. Jiang realizes what is going on, and to stop it, goes and kills Lian, but it is too late Zhao is dead. As Pang goes to become Governor Jiang attacks him, but is being wasted until the lords have Pang shot, and he is dispatched by Zhao, and Zhao is also taken and killed, but he fulfilled his oath to kill the brother who killed another.
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Jet Li is amazing in this. Just fantastic, and so utterly out for his own. He plays dead so he will be safe at the start, and betrays his sworn brother by sleeping with and coveting his wife. And he massacres people for his own ends to gain his own power. Yes he wants to help the people, but he does it in such an evil way that there is no way he can’t pay, and even his good Brothers are taken down by him, as the good people that trusted him died in battle for him.
Brutal and with an amazing realism to the battles. We do see Jet kicking some ass, but not much, and it is not with wirefu at all, but brutal and bloody combat.
This is an absolute must see!!!
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