Blades of the Guardians: cluttered storytelling overwhelms Yuen Woo-Ping’s wuxia epic

Adapted from a popular comic, the Chinese title of Yuen Woo-Ping’s record-setting wuxia film translates as Bodyguard: Wind Rises In The Desert. With his scruffy appearance, cheeky smile and wry cynicism, Wu Jing’s hero Dao Ma recalls another famous screen bodyguard, Mifune Toshiro’s wandering swordsman in Kurosawa Akira’s Yojimbo (1961). The references to Japanese chanbara cinema are reinforced by the presence of a small child, Xiao Qi (Ju Qianlang), in Dao Ma’s care, like Itto Ogami and his son in the Lone Wolf And Cub series (1972-1974).  

As a director, Yuen has always been stronger on action than plot or character and the film is essentially a series of chases and duels that grow in scale and intensity as Dao Ma races across the striking vistas of the Taklamakan Desert. Typically for wuxia cinema, there’s a sprawling cast and numerous subplots, but here there’s little time to develop either. Zhi (Sun Yizhou) makes an implausible rebel leader, with Sun playing him for comic effect, while his masked appearance only serves to facilitate an obvious twist in the final act.  

Opera star Chen Lijun impresses in her movie debut, bringing personality and pathos to Ayuya, crack-shot archer and proud heiress to the Mo Clan. Genre fans may be enticed by the presence of Jet Li and Kara Wai in the ensemble, but they’re underused with Li performing an obligatory fight scene and Wai barely registering as a nomad. Similarly, the emotions fueling the longstanding enmity between former comrades Dao Ma and Di Ting (Tse) are lost amongst the noise.   

Ku Huen-Chiu, who was Yuen’s assistant martial arts coordinator on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), serves as action director. With Wu Jing in his early fifties and most of his co-stars lacking martial arts experience, the fights rely on rapid editing and visual effects for their execution. Zhang Jin plays a hulking, unstoppable swordsman working for Heyi Xuan and Yuen circumnavigates that obstacle by simply having him switch allegiances during the grand showdown, one of many unconvincing narrative choices. Audiences in mainland China have made Blades Of The Guardians the top-grossing wuxia film of all time, but the cluttered storytelling and functional characters make for an underwhelming offering from the old master, despite the twinkle in Wu Jing’s eyes.   

► Blades of the Guardians is in UK cinemas now.