Set in China in the 1860s, during the Taiping Rebellion. Loosely based on three real warlords, who raised an army to fight against this rebellion and in the process restored the rule of the Qing Dynasty.
Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro play the leads here as the three warlords, who come from different walks of life, but who through the atrocities of war are brought together and end up swearing a blood oath of brotherhood, to stick together and end the war on their terms. The movie very heavily rests on their shoulders and they do not disappoint. The best scenes in this film are those where all three of them face one another, either in unison or in conflict.
Unfortunately the script is somewhat lacking. These three actors could handle heavier stuff, but the dialogue they're given, especially in these situations they're set in, don't quite reach the level of greatness they perhaps could.
The film also looks oddly drab. I guess they wanted to go for a more realistic style, compared to more usual outlandish Chinese historical films, but it still comes off as planned because now everyone is dressed universally in black, which looks outlandish as well, just in a very different way.
To the film's credit, I say that the group battle scenes are really good looking. Some of the best I've seen in years. Although, on the flip side, the individual battles are jerky messes. Especially considering that you had Jet Li as the main character!
Still, it is definitely a film worth checking out if you're into Chinese period war films.
Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro play the leads here as the three warlords, who come from different walks of life, but who through the atrocities of war are brought together and end up swearing a blood oath of brotherhood, to stick together and end the war on their terms. The movie very heavily rests on their shoulders and they do not disappoint. The best scenes in this film are those where all three of them face one another, either in unison or in conflict.
Unfortunately the script is somewhat lacking. These three actors could handle heavier stuff, but the dialogue they're given, especially in these situations they're set in, don't quite reach the level of greatness they perhaps could.
The film also looks oddly drab. I guess they wanted to go for a more realistic style, compared to more usual outlandish Chinese historical films, but it still comes off as planned because now everyone is dressed universally in black, which looks outlandish as well, just in a very different way.
To the film's credit, I say that the group battle scenes are really good looking. Some of the best I've seen in years. Although, on the flip side, the individual battles are jerky messes. Especially considering that you had Jet Li as the main character!
Still, it is definitely a film worth checking out if you're into Chinese period war films.