Seller:Amazon Video On Demand Rating:6 reviews Sales Rank:1,508
Genre:Action - Martial Arts Rating:R (Restricted) Media:Video On Demand Running Time:114 Minutes
Theatrical Release Date:April 2, 2010 Release Date:June 29, 2010 Availability:Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Synopsis:
Set in the midst of war and political upheaval during the Taiping Rebellion of the 1860s, WARLORDS stars Jet Li as General Pang, who barely survives a brutal massacre of his fellow soldiers by playing dead, and joins a band of bandits led by Er Hu (Andy Lau) and Wu Yang (Takeshi Kaneshiro). After fighting back attackers from an helpless village, the three men take an oath to become "blood brothers," pledging loyalty to one another until death, but things quickly turn sour and the three men become embroiled in a web of political deceit, and a love triangle between Pang, Er Hu and a beautiful courtesan (Wu Jing-Lei).
A Chinese war epic well worth seeingMarch 14, 2010 C. Sawin(TX) 10 out of 13 found this review helpful
General Pang Qing Yun is the sole survivor of his entire battalion. The Ching army was taken out against Taiping rebels in Hechuan. A woman named Lian spends the night with Pang and leaves before he wakes the next morning. Jiang Wuyang, one of the bandits that rides into the town Pang currently finds himself in, is impressed with Pang's fighting skills and introduces Pang to Zhao Er Hu. Jiang and Er Hu take Pang to their village where Pang is reunited with Lian who just so happens to be Er Hu's wife. The bandits from the village overthrow a passing food convoy and that is thought to be a resolution to their current desperation until the imperial army invades and usurps the food that they stole. Pang, Er Hu, and Jiang take a blood oath to become blood brothers before joining Lord Chen's army. With the odds against them, their 800 soldiers get the upper hand on Shu City's 5,000 as plans are put into motion to overthrow Suzhou and Nanjing, the capital. The brothers soon begin to fall apart on their rise to the top. Er Hu tends to be loyal with his word and his brothers no matter what as Pang will sacrifice anyone and even make deals with his enemies just to win while Jiang is stuck in the middle.
This movie is phenomenal. The battle sequences are stunning, the cinematography is brilliant, and the acting is top notch. The Warlords took everything that was fantastic about Mongol and made it just a little bit better. Jet Li deserves a mention. After seeing Unleashed and Fearless, it was nice to see him actually show his acting chops again. The desire to see him at that acting capacity was high, so it was quite a treat to see him at that caliber once again. After The Forbidden Kingdom and his rather stale performance in that, it's become a bit difficult what to expect from him other than him displaying how talented he is at martial arts. Fortunately, he did a great job in this as he showed just about every emotion in this film at some time or another. His fight scenes were also incredible, but that is kind of a given. Andy Lau also deserves a nod. His character is just so passionate about being honorable and loyal that when things go wrong, his reaction is just explosive. He has some really powerful scenes where he's fighting for what he thinks is right. There's a scene where a play is mocking him and his brothers while he's eating dinner. He begins to laugh, which leads to him crying uncontrollably, and then he begins laughing again. He just managed to pull it off flawlessly and it was incredibly impressive.
The battle scenes didn't pull any punches either. Blood flies across the screen as limbs roll on the ground. It's truly fantastic. They are the highlight of the film as the first half seems to not pull away from the battlefield. The film is also extremely colorful. Every scene is stunningly vibrant. There are so many memorable scenes from the film and half of that is due to how they were shot. There's a scene where Er Hu runs into a coliseum where there are just hundreds of dead bodies lying on the ground and the camera does a 360 degree motion around him capturing his emotions and the devastation that lies around him. It's amazing.
The Warlords is one of the best Chinese war epics I've ever seen. Not that I've seen too many of them, but even in comparison to feudal Japan films, it's one of the best. If you were a fan of films like Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Kahn, The Last Samurai, or Seven Samurai, then this comes highly recommended. It's the type of film that shouldn't be missed by anyone.
Great movie, little slow in the beginningApril 26, 2010 P. Steen(GR,MI) There were some slow/shaky parts in the beginning of this movie that I became wary of, but after waiting it out the film developed into something that was amazing and dramatic. There is a lot of action in the movie, but most of it is storyline and dialogue. All of the actors deliver a stellar performance, and the message of the film is strong. I would like to leave one star off because I don't believe it is completely historically accurate, but decided against that because the film was so compelling.
Good MovieAugust 27, 2010 R. Stevens(Georgia, USA) I chose this movie because I like Jet Li, but the movie did make me a little angry because I am not used to Jet Li playing a bad guy. I still like Jet Li, but the character itself was of a person who betrayed his friends.
Worth watchingApril 12, 2010 Rosie 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This movie drew me in far more than I expected. Well acted, good character development and with a coherent plot. Thumbs up!
This was my first try with Amazon's Digital movie rental and I will definitely be doing this again. Watched it on my laptop via Wi-fi in a motel room.
Too melodramatic; Last 20 minutes saves the movie.April 17, 2010 Jaewoo Kim(Santa Monica, CA) 0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Have you seen dramas where everything seems overly melodrmatic and overdone? This movie fits the bill. The movie tries to be great and seems to have been created with a great vision. But the vision and the story were not executed well at all except maybe in the last 20 minutes.
This film is not a martial arts epic. The action sequences are mostly unexciting and uninspiring battle sequences. Jet Li does a few of his old martial art tricks, but they are not central to the story or the action sequences.
The problem is that the battle sequences and their consequences are nearly 2/3 of the movie they are not even all that important to the story. The real intrigue is the triangle love relationship between the main characters. One great omission in the storyline is never answering why does the main female character maintains the triangular relationship? What is HER motivation and objective? Her character is central and is perhaps the most important role and yet she is relegated to just being passive victim to the circumstances and men around her.
The last 20 minutes brings the triangular relationship to the center. And that's when things get really intersting. The movie still could have done a better job of properly dramatizing key sequences, but the storyline picks up a notch or two in its drama and intrigue. If not for the last 20 minutes, I would have given this movie 2 stars at the most.
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