Dragon Blade
Rated R
Starring Jackie Chan, John Cusack, Adrien Brody
Written and Directed by Daniel Lee
The Story:
Tiberius (Brody) is heading to conquer the Silk Road in China. Huo An (Chan) gathers his brothers in arms to prepare to defend themselves. They end up receiving assistance from General Lucius (Chan) and his legion that defected from Rome to escape Tiberius' madness. Together, this band of warriors are all that stands between freedom and a world under Tiberius' mad rule.
So let's begin with the old standby, "based on a true story". Because it is.
Sometimes that story may be as simple as once upon a time, some Romans and Chinese met one another...
But that's still a good place to base this story on, though there was a bit more to it than that. There may not have been the full scale battle that's going to unfold here, but at least you know it's not totally making up the idea that the Chinese and Romans ever met one another.
Pretty cool concept, really.
Yep, Chinese cinema is alive and well, and you're looking at the number one export from Chinese cinema last year.
While it may look like a budget/straight to video affair from our side of the spectrum, it's really quite the lavish film with pretty good production values and a lot of effort to make this period piece shine.
From the reports I read, it was the # 1 film in all of China last year, and one billion people can't be totally wrong, right? :)
Seriously though, it's a pretty good "sand and sandals" period piece that allows the Roman legions to fight alongside Chan's Chinese freedom fighters.
Cusack turns in a fine performance, and Brody was hired to chew the scenery and twirl his evil villainous moustache.
Which he does, even without the benefit of having a moustache.
Nothing you can't do without, but if you're a fan of Chan and his films, definitely worth a peek.
Final Grade: C+
