Dragon Blade (2015) User Reviews (113)

A mish-mash of stuff, but some of it works

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 18 June 2016]

DRAGON BLADE isn't a great film at all, but given that the previous Jackie Chan film I watched was Chinese ZODIAC, it seems somewhat acceptable by comparison. Certainly it's a messy movie, which is typical of Jackie's more recent efforts, but it has some good stuff included alongside all of the tat. The story is supposedly based on historical fact and involves some Roman soldiers who traverse the Silk Road and find themselves in China. They're split into two factions, the small number of good guys and the overwhelming bad, and the good guys end up joining forces with Jackie and his men to fight the enemy. What DRAGON BLADE boils down to is a heady mix of laughable sentiment, Chinese comedy, war and battle sequences, and some very bad acting.

Jackie himself doesn't really seem to do much that's new in this film. The director throws in a few of his old-fashioned fight scenes to recall his glory days, and while the action is acceptable, it's never memorable. It's the western actors who do surprisingly well: Adrien Brody as the quietly menacing villain, and John Cusack as the likable ally. Some of the set-piece sequences are well-handled, like the building of the defences, and the large-scale action at the climax is quite a lot of fun. I was glad to see that director Daniel Lee has calmed down since the days of DRAGON SQUAD and can now direct reasonable fare like this and THREE KINGDOMS: RESURRECTION OF THE DRAGON. DRAGON BLADE isn't perfect by any means, but there's a good film hiding underneath the mish-mash of styles and ideas.

big muddle and big battles

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 11 September 2017]

Inspired by the story of a roman legion which vanished attacking the Parthian empire in 50 BC, this is a tale of civilizations clashing on the silk road. Huo An (Jackie Chan) leads the Silk Road Protection Squad which tries to keep the peace among the warring factions. They are framed for gold smuggling and sentenced to prison work detail at the Wild Geese Gate. Lucius (John Cusack) leads his Legion to the gate with a blind boy named Publius. They are on the run from Publius' murderous brother Tiberius (Adrien Brody).

There continues to be an effort to sell Chinese movies by adding Hollywood elements. This has led to bending and twisting stories to accommodate the additions. The stories feel artificial and manufactured. It's a mess of clunky muddle. There are some nice battle scenes in this one. They are wild fun action but this movie is immediately forgettable.

Don't bother

[grandmastersik · 20 November 2015]

If ever anyone in the history of cinema has earned 2 hours of my life, it's Jackie Chan. Unfortunately, I was repaid this sentiment with two of the most horrible hours of cinema made in recent years.

When I heard of Romans fighting it out in the Silk Road, I liked the idea. But instead the film starts out with two Chinese historians (who speak English, naturally, since this is aimed at an international audience) searching for a lost city that the Romans built. The beginning is bad... ominously bad, and it only gets worse from there.

Rewind 2,000 years and with the tone set for a serious affair, until Jackie Chan adopts his usual "stunt-fu" in a fight scene completely out of place, but hey, it's Jackie Chan, so carry on.

Enter the Romans... John Cusack is his usual self but he seems to be accompanied by two of the most horrendous actors I've seen, in the guise of a child would-be Emporor and his male nanny. Actually, aside from Brody, Cusack and one or two Centurians, pretty much everyone who speaks English will make you cringe with how god-awful their "talent" is.

Anyway, the script's a total mess and for long periods, is actually very boring. Brody turns up as some power-craved maniac Emporor who didn't need to do anything bad since he was always going to be the Emporor anyway, and then we have a battle and, thankfully, the film ends.

Only, it doesn't. Instead, it goes back to the historian couple who enjoy the romantic scenery of the few sand-blasted columns remaining upright before they illogically announce that they'll never share their discovery, even though it's the whole point of their very existence!

Sigh. This film is just bad, illogical and painful and unless you're a die-hard Jackie Chan fan, I implore you to avoid it. For those of you who are Jackie Chan fans, just know that this is one of - if not THE worst film he's ever made and ask yourself: "Do you really want to taint your opinion of the great man by sitting through this?"

Good Choreography, side jokes. Horrible script, story development

[joshuaxie1993 · 3/10 · 21 February 2015]

While the main message of the movie was about multi-cultural peace (probably what the world needs now), choreography was good (nothing less than expected from a J.C. movie), side jokes to make you giggle from this otherwise boring plot, nothing else about the movie was able to redeem it from it's cliché story progression and bad script.

1) The message about multicultural peace was smacked right in audience faces left, right, up, down from the beginning of the show. To make things worst, coupled with cheesy lines, it made a profound and wise motif seem plain cheesy, overly-simplified and lacked the depth it should have had.

2) Despite the strong development of major characters, minor/side characters were not grounded enough. Fickle change in beliefs by side characters (people of the Wild Geese Gate), once again, made the story look superficial and badly developed.

Unfortunately, great choreography, scene shots and strong casts could not save it from its draggy, underdeveloped plot and horrible script.

Quite a bad movie

[blueskyy_ng · 6/10 · 10 June 2015]

I've read some of the reviews -- the bad reviews, I generally agree more, the good ones were often too exaggerated. Although I am not a master of the Chinese language, I'm able to understand both English and Chinese movies without subtitles, so I'd like to first address the title. I've no problem with the English title, whatsoever, but to the reviewer who said that it has something to do with lions? He's WRONG. If you want me to translate it, it's something along the lines of Top Gererals, Brave (Mightly) Armies (Troops).

Now, to my review. First, the good. The actors were good. The fight choreography was good. The cgi was good. That's pretty much it!

So, what was so wrong about the movie? The message of the movie is simple, to promote harmony among people despite the obvious differences in race, ethnicity, culture, creed, etc, etc. I get that! I have nothing against that either. The challenge however, is to incorporate that message seamlessly into the story without it feeling too forced or cliché -- and that was exactly how I felt when I watched some of those scenes.

But the bigger failure... is that the story makes absolutely no sense at all. It makes no sense to me how easily they could move and deploy their armies along the Silk Road from Rome to China or vice-versa. It makes no sense that they were all able to understand a common language, that is English. In ancient China, Chinese don't speak a common Chinese language, they speak different dialects. And if you add to the mix, the European languages, and the Middle Eastern languages, there is just no common ground in there for them to be able to understand each other.

It makes no sense that Jackie Chan is so trusty from the start (almost like a fool). It makes no sense that Adrien Brody would (for the sake of not spoiling) find himself eventually in that predicament. A lot of things that happened in between didn't make hell of a lot of sense either...

disappointed

[sandy_mcnair · 3/10 · 26 February 2015]

I wont describe the actual movie here as you will be able to read other reviews already published. I will however will try to avoid you suffering the pain I have just gone through.

I was very disappointed in this movie, perhaps because I expected better from a movie with John Cusack, Adrien Brody, Jackie Chan. Perhaps I should have looked at who was directing the movie such as Daniel Lee and the typical movies he has made.... or maybe it was because the movie was just "really" bad.

I watched the movie on a quiet Wednesday night and I would estimate that a third of the audience left well before the end, some really early. When the credits came up it was like a fire evacuation alert had just came on. Please, Women and Children first.. We will all survive!

Jackie Chan fight scenes were well below par and I thought they were more like a "Charlie Chaplin/Harold Loyd" Silent movie style rather than a "Rush Hour" style.

John Cusack character was extremely boring and I could have fallen asleep in I was at home.

Adrien Brody was the only positive in the movie, but the movie was so bad that his acting was lost.

The child actor was badly filmed (always) like an old Asian hero film and I found the child annoying.

The production and cinematography of the film are cringe-worthy throughout. flashbacks are random and not in line with story. Slow motions are extensive and really annoying.

Recommendation - Go and see something else.

Absolutely wonderful and refreshing film about War, Peace, Philosophy, Morals and so much more.

[angiris · 8/10 · 12 March 2015]

This kind of film truly reminds me why I enjoy Asian cinema. This take here...the mix of martial arts and Jackie Chan, Jet Li kind of sword play (typical Chinese which as awesome), mixed cast from various nations to throw in so many nations and trifles in just 2 hours and actually not make it feel rushed nor boring at ANY time whatsoever. Now that is something I find truly impressive and extremely refreshing.

Jackie Chan as this peaceful and helpful man who seeks to create peace and assist others. "Turn foes into friends" as the movie so eloquently states in the end. John Cusack as the Roman General on the run with the young brother of another roman general (adrien Brody who's the bad guy here which he does a wonderful job portraying) Various other people ending up to join the fray of power, greed, jealousy and so much more. It's all great, people! It's great entertainment and it keeps you interested and captivated through each step of the film. It makes you pumped up during the fight sequences which are very well done, effects, costumes and basically the visuals of this are astounding. Its a beautiful and yet raw looking film. Gritty...which really allows you to immersive yourself into this epic...and I stress that word...EPIC film.

I personally see this as a definitive 8 out of 10. Its more than good. Its more than great. It's in my opinion flat out fantastic and most of all so because it has GREAT replay value. Its entertaining, captivating, got great action, ambitious and passionate story, great cast and it is filmed very very well.

Definitely worth a watch AT LEAST once. Wonderful film. I'm very happy I decided to watch this one. There are so many big budget films nowadays that simply are so heavy and dragged out in their story telling and basically you'll watch it once...walk away without air in your lungs not because you're blown away...but because you are literally exhausted just watching the same...old...boring...cliché story.

THIS... strays from all of that! And thus I'm rating it 8. Damn good film, people. Another thing is also you never get the weird feeling that Jackie Chan who's quite the comedy actor is here as the action hero. Quite the contrary he makes it work extremely well. Sure he has some funny scenes and he makes the action super good like you'd expect. But overall...he's doing damn good in this kind of film.

Daniel Lee. Thank you so much for making this film. And thanks to all who helped and participated.

Dragon Blade has some significant flaws, but its high production value might appeal to casual audience as mild crowd pleaser

[quincytheodore · 6/10 · 20 February 2015]

Epic historical war movies are easily marketable, they have a certain hook to captivate audience, especially when big budget and A-list actors are involved. Dragon Blade couples together many aspects from similar movies. With its grand production some of these work fairly well. However, it tries too hard to please viewers with inept script and poor direction that the movie becomes unoriginal, even to the point of cringe-worthy.

Huo An (Jackie Chan) is an officer of Silk Road tasked to maintain peace in a land divided by many countries. Soon, he's drawn by the turmoil and political struggle as conspiracy of Roman Empire knocks on his door step. The story admittedly has merits, there are a few subplots that are decent enough, although the pacing drags on way too much on unity issue. The main message that it wants to push is how many tribes or Silk Road can exist, this could be a great if the movie doesn't consistently shove it in the most heavy-handed way.

Jackie Chan is a star in his own right. He's not that well versed in acting, but audience would know what to expect at this point. John Cusack holds his own, but frankly he's not very interesting. The choice for child actor isn't that great either, this is an obvious bait to draw audience sympathy. Still, some of the Chinese actors are pretty good as they look more natural. Props to Adrien Brody, he alone raises the acting level. A beastly antagonist, he delivers a menacing on-screen persona.

For setting and costumes, the movie puts a lot of effort. Design is flamboyant, it almost looks like a high profile video game set. Each character has their distinct look which is quite appealing to showcase diversity. Choreography is fine as well, this is a strong point of Chinese movie. The fights are engaging with many details in movement, meticulous array of gimmick and different fighting style. At least it got the warfare department covered.

Cinematography, on the other hand, is bad till the point of cringe-worthy. The scenes are badly paced and often recycled, some scenes are even needlessly repeated several times. There's no logic on flashback of events that just occurred, it doesn't add to emotional value, instead it makes the movie that much boring. It also spams slow motion in insufferable rate, not to mention with overly aggressive soundtracks that attempt to sell the scenes with cheesy tone. It's as if the movie is constantly yelling, "Intense! Emotion! Sadness!"

Dragon Blade is an odd endeavor in epic historical film, it copies too many aspects of already known formula in hope that the success can be transmitted here. It has choppy direction and all sorts of issues, but the movie sometimes brings some good elements, which might just be enough for light entertainment.

I hope it paid well ...

[TwoWardrobes · 2/10 · 16 January 2016]

Imagine a Chinese production of Flash Gordon, set in the ancient Orient, with a bit of gore and a musical set-piece. That's pretty much this film. Supposedly based on Chinese 'history', it's actually badly camouflaged propaganda (as are most of the 9 or 10 star reviews on here). I chuckled through most of it, which would have been a good thing if it was a comedy. The scale and the way it is beautifully shot are let down by the ridiculous plot, p*ss-poor dialogue and haphazard editing.

John Cusack looks like he just woke up on set and is going along with things until he can figure out how he got there.

Jackie Chan sings. He sings a song of peace. Then he cries. Don't worry though, his little tune is sandwiched by plenty of slapstick fighting.

Adrian Brody got so immersed in his 'bad guy' role that he didn't notice how out-of-place somebody acting looks in this film. Or that nobody could be that much of an utter, utter b*stard.

At the heart of it is a pretty simple, and noble, multicultural peace message. If you can figure out what the f**k is going on at any one time, or why anybody was fighting in the first place, then that may resonate with you.

All in all, it's a big sloppy mess of a film.

One of the best (and yet underrated) Jackie Chan film of this decade!

[www-afzala1 · 8/10 · 8 December 2015]

I manage to watch this on an airplane while I was on my way to Qatar, anyways I was a bit worried of what the outcome might be e.g. Flops like tuxedo, the medallion and the spy next door, but it turns out that it was so brilliant (guess the critics are wrong about this film. Here are some of my pros I manage to break down: *The most redeeming thingwas the fight scenes, as Jackie stated in behind the scenes promo (he wanted the fight scenes to be realistic instead of a wuxia-type fight scene) and he absolutely delivers it well, he's in his 60's so he's not a young lad anymore that can make fight scenes look fancy (or perform stunts) and tbh it fits well with his age, also it was great contrast with eastern vs western styles of fighting. *diverse location/cast-I was so surprised of how many groups were involved including Uighur, Huns, White Indians etc and also the Romans, also filmed in a beautiful desert and with no cgi what so ever. *Prop design-the scorpion sword (attaching wrist rope to sword) was pretty original and artistic at the same time, also the costume design was also artistic as well (as it wasn't very typical).

Here are my cons: *acting-it wasn't bad nor great, it was alright but could've done a bit better. *story dragging too long-my only complaint is when it tries to get into the action, there were some boring dialogue but nothing that puts me off from the film.

Verdict: It was very interesting to see Adrien Brody to play the antagonist as he seemed to always play protagonists in previous roles. As for Jackie, he did say he wants to be a better actor so I think he should make film like this in the future minus the historical era lol.

One of the Best films I have seen from Jackie Chan in a long time

[tigdrgn01 · 10/10 · 9 March 2015]

Allow me to start by saying if you are expecting a non stop action fight film....Don't. This film is one build on story not action. The fight scenes are good but not the best for modern day film goers.

The film depicts events on the Silk Road involving Chinese, Roman, and other countries who travel and protect this region.

I have read other reviews on here concerning this film and give it a low rating due to non-action scenes. This film is not a blow them up and add more dynamite type of film. It makes one think.

Jackie Chan has begun a long line of historical films, that have been ranked low on his career but its these films that he is most proud of. They show a history of China and its surrounding regions that most people in the west would never hear of.

Good for watching with a group to make fun of it

[catdogmanfish · 1/10 · 11 January 2021]

If you love history then this is not the film for you. It's obvious the filmmakers have never so much as opened a pop up children's book on the Romans. They would have done better just by watching the movie Gladiator. Instead the Romans fight differently than real Romans did, they have names like "black eagle corps" that is not Roman, even their costumes are wrong. Conversely this film is obviously a Chinese film because they come out smelling like roses. This feels like a puff piece. Don't get me wrong, the Romans weren't saints and there are a slew of American films that are guilty of this same treatment. This could have been better, alot better, if the filmmakers would have put forth any sort of effort at casting, historical research, storyline, anything. This is a joke.

Awful story, poor acting, and major plot holes

[jasonguinn789 · 3/10 · 9 September 2015]

I was excited to see this flick with such a solid cast and interesting story. This movie was terrible.

The story is poorly written and the dialogue is laughably bad. For the first half of the movie I had no idea what was going on, who was fighting or why, or how the Romans spoke American English! Within the first 15 minutes there are two drawn out fight sequences that make little to no sense and this is followed by a lot of fast cuts, bad dialogue, and things strung together so poorly I was like, "What the hell is going on?" And it never gets better. One reviewer said there is no shaky cam in the movie-- there is. Jackie acts like he always does to the point you know what's going to happen before it does. The humor falls flat and the acting is so poor form such talented actors that I got the feeling they were in this for the money.

Do not see this movie. If you want to see some good Chinese action there are much better options than this thing from everyone involved. I tried to enjoy it, but couldn't even make it through the film--I ended up stopping it about midway through.

Awful.

Only for Jackie's Hard-Core Fans

[misha_kerogazov · 6/10 · 31 July 2020]

The story in the movie is a complete mess. I'm not going to go into details, but if you are considering watching this movie, you must have already accepted that legions of Romans in China is OK. It would be more plausible if they shifted the accent a bit more into fantasy (e.g. different kingdoms, one is more like Roman Empire and another like China, but not actual countries), so there are not so many complaints about historical inaccuracies, but it is what is and according to them, it's based on historical facts. There are also a bit too many secondary undeveloped characters.

So, as the title says, you would enjoy it if you just watch it for Jackie. The sword fights are pretty good; other fights, well some are not bad, some are meh. I watched it to the end, skipped only a few times, overall not his worst movie, but far from his best one.

Summary: Recommended only for true Jackie Chan's fans.

Should be a lesson on how not to make a movie

[frank-340-831830 · 3/10 · 1 August 2015]

I thought my first review might be for something awesome, but I cant help myself, I have to discuss this film. I question mainly why I watched it to the end. Firstly - the positives - some good action, some realistic looking fights, deaths, blood, arrows etc. and two minor laughs where I believe we were meant to laugh. Now the negatives - I spent far too long laughing or groaning at the rest of the film. It really should be a lesson to school kids writing stories/scripts - don't overdo it. You don't need to. Too many flashbacks to help tell the back story. Too much slow motion for dramatic effect Too much dramatic music for dramatic effect Too many flashbacks to remind us why/how we should feel. Too many big metaphors, statements and themes - most of which were also poorly delivered by otherwise quality actors. Too many big dramatic moments that should be reserved for the end of the film. And then the weird very beginning and very end that don't fit well with the story - are we meant to believe this is a true story or what? If you took out the flashbacks and slow motion the whole story could have been told in an hour. You could have got rid of the beginning and ending and replaced with a simple statement to set the time and place.

And if that wasn't enough - Jackie Chan singing? Twice?

Sadly one of the worst action movies ever made.

[david-clay-freeman · 4/10 · 23 September 2022]

Bad script and horrible acting are a waste of some amazing sets, costumes and cinematography. You could have made 3 or 4 great Chinese action movies for the budget of this stinker. John Cuzak should never be cast in another action movie ever! It is a shame Adrien Brody will be tied to this catastrophe forever. And the director of this should be relegated to 30 minute Power Ranger episodes in the future at most.

Really stunning fight sequences with backdrops most directors would kill to be able to have in a movie are wasted just like the two hours of my life spent on Dragon Blade. Save yourself a heartbreaking experience if you love Jackie Chan.

Surprising..

[johnericdoysabas · 9/10 · 9 June 2015]

It caught me by surprise! Not really a favorable film for critics but I did really enjoyed this film! That was really surprising. Romans, Chinese, Arabs, and Indians in this one historical epic. I mean how cool is that? I really thought this is just one of those straight to DVD kind of crap were Chan, Cusack and Brody is teaming up for an Chinese Historical Epic just for pure marketing type of sh*t. At first, OK I see JC doing his own thing making this epic into comedy or whatever, but then the tone gets too serious dramatically. I love films with good bonds and brotherhood. This is one of those films even with the most cheesiest screenplay and awkward moments, I still enjoyed watching it. And the fight scenes are very well choreographed with less shaky cams which is a good thing to me ( I hate shaky cams ). Heard this is the most expensive film ever made in China, well I never doubt of that. I can see the high production value in this. And kill me but I love the performances on this one. Cusack is okay, I know he is a really good actor, but I was surprised how great Brody in here as a villain. He is really good in this film. And Chan, he still got it! I was thinking this is the best JC comeback film yet. Overall this is a great watch for all Jackie Chan fanatics and for everyone who loves action films and historical epics with great action sequences. The good thing is, I was not bored and the pacing keeps me into it. Overall I'm pretty satisfied with it, and a must watch guilty pleasure.

Awesomely Bad

[chasydmarich-647-882191 · 7/10 · 4 September 2015]

Read a review claiming Dragon Blade achieved "so bad it's good" status. Wow, did it ever! Imagine if Sharknado (the dethroned champion of "so bad it's good) had a $65 million budget.

This movie had a lot of good going for it. Jackie Chan is an amazing action star, made famous by his "stunt fighting" which he excels at in this movie. The production value was really top notch - sets, costumes, cinematography, special effects, all of it was quite impressive.

Where this movie fails on every level is the writing and the acting. I could go into great detail but I think the best comparison is the cheesy, campy entertainment that is the SyFy original movie.

Adrien Brody and John Cusack must have signed onto this movie like all the A-list celebrities back in the 80s making Japanese commercials for a quick buck, certain that no one in America would ever see them.

Painful and slow

[srmeewisse · 3/10 · 22 May 2015]

Open-minded I started to watch this film and I did manage to watch until the end. And that says a lot. The whole movie is chaotic and makes you wonder if this was meant as a comedy or some kind of parody of the heroic tale. And that side-stepping and wondering destroys the experience of the movie. If not for the decent/OK action scenes and camera work, I would rate this movie a 1. Very disappointing, almost infantile. If the movie was indeed intended as a serious tale from history I would be even offended. Over the top clichés and chewed out plots of thirteen in a dozen, just dreadful. Too bad, I really like Jackie Chan movies, but more as an actor then producer.

Dragon Blade - One of Jackie Chan's worst movies

[tiger-lion_eternalenemie · 1/10 · 18 February 2015]

If the trailer of the movie did not warn you about how bad the movie will turn out, and you still paid for the ticket money to watch this movie.... No one can blame you, featuring an all star cast such as internationally renown Jackie Chan, Oscar Winner - Adrian Brody.. one would expect a lot from it.

But that's all the goodness there is, famous cast and a good director (Daniel Lee). Daniel Lee previously helm 14 Blades (starring Donnie Yen) and it was a success critically and financial, and it is right to expect that he will emulate his success with Jackie Chan, but we are all dead wrong.

The movie has a very incomplete story-telling with very bad narrative. Simultaneously overblown and underdeveloped, Dragon Blade fails equally at showcasing the talent of its star and resolving its baroque plot.

Dragon Blade is a fractured and often baffling martial "epic" that not even popular star Jackie Chan is likely to be able to save. Narratively confused and confusing, dotted with frequently shoddy special effects and reliant on CGI rather than Chan doing his thing (which proves to be one of the film's more serious failings) Dragon Blade is going to have to work hard to find its audience.

Jackie Chan's stunt doubles are pretty obvious, and one would ask if he has delivered his best on screen performance and should retire now.

Jackie Chan's name above the title will be the primary reason for what success the film finds in Asia, and it will be even more crucial in overseas niche markets. There may be some interest from genre festivals but overall the film is too weak for that highly specialized circuit.

The truth is this, this seems like a movie hurried into production and release, to coincide with the Chinese New Year release date of February 19th, if more effort and time was given for filming and post-production, it may end up much better.

Jackie Chan's movies have been on the decline for the past decade, his best movie in recent years was Chinese Zodiac(2012) in which he announces his retirement, but every year he still comes up with new movies. Fans like us will still pay money to watch him on the big screen, but if he continues to disappoint us, fans will turn away.

For Fans who still misses the old Jackie Chan who does his own stunts such as in Police Story Trilogy(do not include the 2013 failure) and Drunken Master, you will be sorely disappointed.

Waste of tallent

[Man-Behind-The-Pen · 1/10 · 20 April 2019]

I know this is a fiction story. HOWEVER, it is set in certain historical period and what ticks me off about it the most, besides appalling storyline, script and acting was a complete and utter disregard for at least an attempt at historical accuracy when it comes to Roman soldiers.

Seriously, the money they spent in this liberal artistic vision of their "costumes" could go into making them at least a bit historically accurate and they would look way cooler than the manure the costume department came up with.

It's NOT meant to be laughable, but it is laughably silly and terrible.

[imseeg · 3/10 · 9 July 2022]

Wow, John Cusack as a Roman war general on a horse. THAT is funny. BUT it is not meant to be laughed at, it is meant to be taken seriously.

This is one heck of a silly mix of roman soldiers fighting chinese warlords. It just does NOT make any sense.

The actors got paid. They are happy. I guess quite a lot of folks got fooled to go watch it. They aint happy.

Jackie is still great

[bononista · 24 February 2015]

Anyone expecting Jackie to do his own stunts at this point is unrealistic and not been paying attention. He has already said he would be doing no more films the fact that we have Dragon Blade in 2015 is a blessing. I can barely wait to get this on DVD Original Language w/English Subs. I've been awaiting the release of this film for quite some time and I'm glad it's finally hit the screens. Happy New Year! What I would really like to see is more of the older original films released back in original language with English subtitles (I can't watched the English dubbed films its just too awful to do to any martial arts film). I would like to see Jackie and Jet Li in one more film before Jackie truly retires. The Forbidden Kingdom was Excellent.

Picture perfect story of a dream

[Varghjarta · 8/10 · 10 August 2015]

I don't often review movies, and it is not my strength, though I felt the need to add my thoughts on this one.

Basically, this is a movie pushes that classic primal idea of good vs evil, but also how unity and diversity is what will give the upper hand. I found moments that were "cheesy" but were in such strong moments that I was emotionally engaged and touched instead of feeling manipulated. Very excellent choreography and fight scenes, the attention to costumes and surroundings were splendid, cgi and fx was well made and didn't take up too much space, and the actors were convincing.

This is a movie where I think you would benefit from keeping in mind the cultural and historical context in which this movie was made while watching, it's not only a movie. I like that the "cheese" was made in a way that none loose face and builds a respect and strikes the cord of the moral message it tries to convey. That in itself, gives me hope for a good and bright future between china and the west, if I may be so bold as to bring politics into this.

The story is kept at a good pace and never really drags on so as to become boring, there is constant development and as the story progressed to my surprise I actually cared for the main characters.

If all you want is a "jackie chan" fight+comedy then you may not like this as it's more "serious", but if you don't mind a bit of cheese once in a while and keep an open heart then grab a cold beer and this might strike a cord also in you.

Oh, and the soundtrack is really epic :)

Wow that was bad

[jgallo-10942 · 1/10 · 3 November 2017]

How do people get funding for things like this. I just kept hoping it wold get better but to no avail. Was it meant to be this bad? Is this the style in China? I can expect this from Jackie but John should have know better. Was he hard up for money? Don't waste you time. I'll never get those two hours of my life back.