In order to regain some sanity in my life, I decided to catch the movie 14 Blades in the cinema.
It is a story about the Jin Yi Wei (Brocaded Robe Guards), a group of soldiers similiar to the modern equivalent of the Special Forces. They are highly trained, takes on covert missions for the Emperor. Donnie Yen is the head of this elite force and he gets to have this box of 14 weapons, hence the title.
The storyline includes evil Prince and Eunuch trying to overthrow the Emperor, betrayal and brotherhood within the Jin Yi Wei, romance between the male and female leads, bandits who dress like Pirates of the Carribean, a highly skilled woman who shrieks like a banshee.
The worst part of the movie is the storyline. The plot is filled with illogical holes, where if you gave it a little thought, you will be asking a lot of questions.
The average parts of the movie are the fighting scenes and the editing. Coming from Donnie Yen, I would expect much more, instead, the fighting scenes here are not the hard hitting ones like those in Ip Man. The movie has people flying around, blades whirling like a boomerang, hidden darts, crossbows, and even ancient bazzokas are all featured. Also I find the connection between each scene seems to be jerky, without a clean flow between them.
Now the good parts of the movie are definitely the scenery, and Zhao Wei. Scenes featuring the vast emptiness of the desert, the green lush forests, and even the busy city within the desert were excellent. Also, Zhao Wei’s acting was really good, and her romance between her and Donnie was believable mainly due to her excellent acting.
Out of a possible 5 stars, I am giving this 3 stars.
One last thing, we also get to see this. Hoping not to risk sounding gay, what a body.
