When internal strife leads to a conspiracy to assassinate the emperor, it is up to a group of loyal warriors to protect the emperor and defend the kingdom.
Rated R | Length 94 minutes
Cheng Pei-Pei | Wu Ma | Yan Jie | Yuen Biao
Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
05/23/2021 | TV | DVD | Library | 5 stars |
(Average) 5 stars |
aka The Guardsman (US DVD Title)
Fairly basic story (not so mysterious assassins are after the emperor) but done in such a way to make it very uninteresting and convoluted. Also shot like a television show, which is very odd esp. during the scene transitions (literally feels like it’s going to a commercial break). Of course the Japanese, particularly the lead henchman, are so over-the-top angry evil that it becomes cartoonish despite being a serious film (the Japanese dubbing is very stilted). There are some decent action beats which are really the only reason to view this but by the end I was already checking out due to the melodrama and weird television structure.
It’s like they wanted to make a Shaw Brothers flick with modern techniques but it just doesn’t work nor look good. No extras or bonus features on the DVD but I would’ve viewed any making-of featurette in hopes to learn why it was filmed in this manner.
Not sure why TMDb only lists 4 actors b/c there’s a huge cast in this.
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