Dragon Blade (2015)

July 17, 2016

48 BC the Silk Road Protection Squad tries to maintain the peace between Huns, Chinese, and Indians.  Since life isn’t complicated enough the Silk Road Protection Squad is framed for theft and banished to the Wild Geese Gate which seemed to be only an excuse to get them there. They arrive in chains but within five minutes after arriving they seem to be running the place instead of being prisoners.  Now enter the Roman Empire to make the plot even more complicated who are trying to reach the Parthian Empire.  I’m not quite sure where the Wild Geese Gate is located as the map in the movie shows they have to move West to reach Parthia but that puts them on the wrong side to go from Roman Territory to Partian Empire.  Oh well at least the costumes were correct right?  Wrong.  The Roman equipment was all stylised and bore nothing of fact.  Roman Army of the late REPUBLIC relied on conscription-based Calvary and some troops who kept to their traditional equipment. Mostly recruited in Spain, Gaul and Thrace, and archers in Thrace, Anatolia and Syria. However, these native units were not integrated with the legions, but retained their own traditional leadership, organisation, armour and weapons. Although many of soldiers appeared to be from different regions as there was a ginger haired soldier which you won’t find any native red heads in Italy.

 

So don’t expect any type of actual historic research at all with this film.  Once I got over this major disappointment of  and Imperial Roman army in Republic Rome era and the ridiculous Roman Gladius, Pilum, and Shields not to mention the crossbows.  Although there is written proof that the Roman Calvary used a type of mechanical bow we don’t know what they looked like. Oh and the armoour!  Don’t get me started on the armour!

But I digress.  It is an okay film but it could have been SO MUCH better.  I really enjoyed the multi national cast, it was fresh and inspiring.  The plot was a bit weak and many of the cliche team building montages could have either been written better or just made shorter.  I’ve been generally disappointed in Jackie Chan movies of the last 13-15 years.  They mostly leave me with an over all feeling of ‘Meh’

Jackie Chan (The Crazy 36 Fists, Drunken Master, Mulan) as Huo An (霍安)

John Cusack (Better Off Dead, Grosse Point Blank) as Lucius

Adrien Brody (The Thin Red Line, King Kong) as Tiberius

Lin Peng (Little Big Soldier) as Cold Moon

Mika Wang as Xiu Qing (Huo An’s Wife)

Choi Siwon (A Battle of Wits) as Yin Po

Xiao Yang (Old Boy) as Captain, one of a duo named The Chopstick Brothers

Wang Taili  (Old Boy) as Rat, one of a duo named The Chopstick Brothers

Sammy Hung (The Medalion, Storm Warriors, Kung Fu Hustle) as Red Sun

Yoo Seung-jun (Little Big Soldier) as Cougar

Lorie Pester as a Parthian Queen

Vanness Wu (Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon) as Christian

Karena Lam (Heroic Duo) as Karena

Feng Shaofeng (White Vengeance, Painted Skin: The Resurrection 2) as General Huo Qubing (Han Chinese General)

Sharni Vinson as Lady Crassus (The Parthian Queen)

Jozef Waite as Publius (The Roman Prince)

Philippe Joly as Decimus

James Lee Guy as Eugene

Roger Ebert Review