The Lost Bladesman

A partial tale of perhaps the most famous warrior in Chinese history, Guan Yu.

To me, Donnie Yen was a miscast as Guan Yu. He just doesn't have the physical appearance that you'd expect Guan Yu to be (which he had in abundance when he played Yip Man). But there is no one, I mean no one in current Chinese movie actors inventory who can pull this role off. Other movies that portrays the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, cleverly avoids putting any of the monstrously powerful warriors from this story on screen (or relegates them to relatively insignificant role in the story that don't require them to showcase their terrific might). Maybe if they can find equivalent of Chris Hemsworth when they made the movie "Thor", movies portraying the heroes of this story will succeed.

The movie just didn't have it. It lacked the juice that story of Guan Yu has in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. His enemies were all pathetic shrimps too. There was no big battle scenes where Guan Yu would dispatch the most ferocious warriors the enemy can call to bear on him. Supporting characters, lacked the flare that the characters in the original story has. Also, why the movie chose this particular segment of Guan Yu's career to be put on screen is a mystery. It was one of the flattest part of his story.

Maybe it'll take a CG to produce a character that would even remotely resemble Guan Yu, and the other heroes of this story.

A dud, and just doesn't do any justice to the magnificent lore of Guan Yu.

If you are admirer of the Romance of The Three Kingdoms, it is a must see. If you are fan of martial arts, it is a must see, too. If you have the nostalgia about Three Kingdoms series, it is , off course, a must see. But, more important, it is a correct version , in each detail , of the story of Guan Yu . And that defines it, near the performance of Donnie Yen , as a nice option for a not remarcable but surrely good film.

The movie underperformed at the local box-office at the time of its' initial release. The main factor for its' "failure" was Donnie Yen -- standing at 5' 8" -- portraying a real-life soldier and war general that was bigger and supposedly much taller (more than 6'). But since there's no proof of Guan Yu's height and size, there's only alot you can do to imagine the historical figure's appearance that would come close to the facts.

Directing duo Alan Mak and Felix Chong does something that no other filmmaker would dare doing: Doing their own interpretation of Guan Yu without any myths surrounding his worship-like and over-the-top/exaggerated status, and sticking to the roots as realistically as possible. For that, I think they did a great job creating a totally humanizing version of Guan Yu and Donnie Yen making the character relatable to pretty much anyone situated on historical and modern battlefields. Donnie himself gets to showcase his acting skills once again, and his performance deserves applauds for not going his own route of method acting but actually immersing himself into the character without flaws apart from the dialogue being dubbed in Mandarin, which affects his overall acting (Donnie's a native Cantonese speaker) a bit. However, Jiang Wen as Cao Cao is the movie's true standout with his strong charisma and very impressive acting.

Moving on to the action scenes... It's freaking great! Truly inspirational and undoubtedly the best fight scenes of its' type (Chinese weaponry in warring scenarios) in a very long time. Donnie has said many times that he's setting a goal to break new grounds in action choreography for each production and this is what he's providing us with here as well: Originality and lots of guts breaking away from conventions. Donnie continues to learn new tricks and improving as an action director, and this movie shows it despite being released over 10 years ago.

It took these people quite a while, didn't it? Who else did they think could don that imposing armour, wield that threatening blade and still exhibit grace and agility? Who else did they think could command enough screen presence to sport a scholarly moustache and beard? And who else did they think could take on the role of real life Han dynasty general Guan Yu who personifies courage and righteousness? The perfect candidate is none other than Hong Kong action superstar Donnie Yen, of course. After a decent success that was Ip Man (2008), Yen has been wowing his fans with his slick moves (okay, the redundant All's Well Ends Well 2011 was a breather) in one action flick after another. Here, he takes on the titular role in a historical epic drama based on one of the characters in the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdom. A fictionalised tale set in AD 200, this high budget production has its attention on the relationship between General Guan and the infamous Cao Cao, who is out to conquer the whole of China. Despite Cao Cao's repeated attempts to recruit Guan Yu, his loyalties lie with Liu Bei, whose concubine Guan Yu has a soft spot for. The 107 minute movie follows Guan Yu as he faces treacherous ambushes while escorting the lady home to his sworn brother. Yen has proved his acting chops in works like Bodyguards and Assassins (2009) and Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010), and he delivers a decent performance here as the recognised deity in Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. He personifies the gallantry, trustworthiness and uprightness that Guan Yu is known for. But all eyes are on Mainland actor Jiang Wen as the tyrannical Cao Cao. The acclaimed actor steals the show with his ability to instill an intelligently sly sense of intimidation in all the scenes he appears in. Supporting characters are played by Sun Li (Fearless), Andy On (True Legend) and many other Mainland artistes (Li Zonghan, Shao Bing and Hei Zi amongst them), ensuring ticket sales in the Mainland China market. Familiar faces like Alex Fong (as Liu Bei) and Chin Siu Hou (as a slain general) also appear as cameos. The spectacular actions scenes are no doubt the highlight of this highly recommended movie. Guan Yu's famous expedition of "crossing five passes and slaying six generals" plays out in an episodic manner, with each sequence showcasing a unique martial arts style. Choreographed by Yen himself, action fans will be pleased to see various blades, spears, crossbows and arrows on display, as they come into use during the countless fight scenes. Action scenes aside, the drama is often intense and serious, with elevated dialogues written by directors Alan Mak and Felix Chong. This may not be Infernal Affairs material, but expect to be engaged in a high octane drama that features some truly intelligently dramatic lines. Those unfamiliar with the original novel may be thrown off balance with the massive setup of this period piece. But given its very impressive production values, you will be taken along for the ride. With luscious cinematography by Chan Chi Ying (Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame), masterful production design by Bill Lui (Lust, Caution), and an emotional score by Henry Lai (Echoes of the Rainbow), this is one Chinese production truly worth watching on the big screen.

Donnie Yen is really good at Martial Arts, but you already knew that. Some don't think he's a very good actor though. But the role he has on hand here, is really serving him good. He plays a loner and that suits him very well. The action scenes are phenomenal as expected and the story is good enough (while you could argue there is too much kitsch in it, I think it's the right amount).

It's not a masterpiece, but I think it's a good movie overall, with great story points and turns that while you might expect them, they still come down crashing on you. What's also true, the movie does not loose much on a second viewing. I even liked it better the second time around, because I knew where it was heading and could see small touches in between the settings.