The Place For The Latest Movie Reviews
Cast: Donnie Yen, Jaycee Chan, Charlene Choi, Gillian Chung, Chen Po Lin
An ancient land ruled by a cruel empress (Qu Ying), is a place where men are subservient to women. Despite her ruthlessness, the empress and her chief eunuch, Chiu Ngai (Daniel Wu), live in fear of a prophecy that says a boy shall rise to become emperor, and restore the reign of men. To prevent this, the empress sends out her warriors to kill any child who fulfils the terms of the prediction…
Charcoal Head (Jaycee Chan) and his brother Blockhead (Chen Po-lin) perform in a traveling show run by their foster father, Blackwood (Tony Leung Ka-fai). Their friend Tao (Edison Chen) gives them a stone with a treasure map engraved upon it. The pair set out on an epic journey to find fortune and glory.
They are joined on their odyssey by two fierce warrior women, Blue Bird (Gillian Chung) and 13th Young Master (Charlene Choi), and, together have to survive a series of challenges. The youngsters meet Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Donnie Yen), a master swordsman intent on overthrowing the empire. To do so, Lone must first fight the Lord Of Armor (Jackie Chan) in order to gain access to the mysterious treasure.
Finally, the boy who would be emperor must lead an army against the forces of the empress…
Originally titled "The Twins Effect II" the film finally gets a U.S. release. I normally have a problem with renaming films but since this was only a sequel in name it doesn't really matter plus "Blade of Kings" is a much cooler and suitable name.
The gorgeous Twins are back but their not alone, the film also stars Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen in cameo roles and Jackie's son Jaycee who gives a good performance in his acting debut but it's noteworthy to mention his acting improved even more as the years went by.
This isn't the best martial arts film ever made but it's a fun film with some very good action scenes and the special effects are decent enough. If you haven't seen this sequel but enjoyed the first film then you should find this one to be as entertaining. It would of been cooler if Chan and Yen had more screen time but their on-board as supporting roles and their one fight scene is worth seeing all by itself. It's not quite as good as the first, but there's plenty to like. Beautiful girls, rich colors and costumes, beautiful scenery, a fantasy world of amazons and magic-wielders. It's an innocent little guilty pleasure, if a classic martial arts film is what you're looking for keep looking, if you just want to pass some time then this a quirky, fun way to do so.
It is nice to see this finally released in the states, available on DVD and Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack. Both come with Special Features that include:
Original Language: Cantonese
Dubbed Language: English
Subtitle: English
Extra: Making of
Trailers
Well Go USA
** 3/4 Out Of *****