so much time waiting for this ... what a disappointment...
What a surprising amount of cringeworthiness.
Jackie Chan movies have been on a decline for some time now but I'd say this movie is a new lowpoint.
Many people say that when the newest movie with Chan comes out but while I could at least find some enjoyment in other recent movies despite being mediocre at best, this one is simply awful.
The plot just makes no sense. The roman "refugees" working with the Asians makes no sense either. A sandstorm was bringing two opposing forces together. What. Of course.
Secondary characters aren't satisfyingly established at all and hence I couldn't care less for them or their significance for the plot or any motives they could provide. The climax of the movie is dragged out for way too long, the focus apparently lies on quantity than quality...and Deus-Ex-Machinas here and there.
It's difficult to find anything good besides the obligatory good fight choreographies.
They dragged John Cusack into this, didn't they? - read in CinemaSins voice
Wow. Was not expecting all the whiners to be the only comments. It's a shame too
This movie was GREAT!!!
First, let me say you can't expect it to be a comedy/kung fu movie. Chan was tired of being type cast and he does a tremendous job playing one of China's folklore heroes.
Next it's often hard for "westerners" to understand that the Chinese and Japanese culture have written history going back much further, because they didn't destroy written history from one dynasty to the next. The events this is based on occurred during the Han dynasty under Emperor Yuan. His formal decrees, referenced at the end of the movie, are still archived in China. So we know the Roman soldiers did in fact help defend the West gate Wild Geese city. Whether Huo An and General Lucius became friends or enemy of my enemy is hard to know, but warriors even today often respect those they fight with even if not friends.
You have to go into this movie knowing it's based on facts that are in historical record and in Chinese folklore. You also have to go into it knowing it's not a kung fu movie, or at least like me, realize very quickly that's not what it is. After that though, wow. This is sleeper hit. Brody is great. Chan is actually surprisingly good in the dramatic role and deserves respect for this. And Cusack? Probably one of his best performances in decades.
If I have one complaint. The memory flashbacks to explain away some of the movie is well done and I normally don't like that. I think I might have made the movie longer and done it in whole, but then you really wouldn't get in 50-48 BC how alliances were not necessarily clear. News didn't travel even close to how it did in the last century let alone now.
A rather poor historical epic, Dragon Blade is more myth than history, and it’s not told very well. Set in 50 BC, a rogue Roman legion on the run seeks shelter at the Wild Geese Gate at the end of the Silk Road, connecting Europe and Asia, in exchange for help in finishing the outpost’s construction. The film is extremely heavy-handed with its theme of unity and working together, going so far as to have soldiers bond over a dance-like competition. And the dialog is just as thudding and ham-fisted. The bad acting doesn’t help either, though leads Jackie Chan, John Cusack, and Adrien Brody do what they can. Also, Chan’s fight choreography/directing is pretty good and delivers a number of exciting action sequences. Dragon Blade has its moments, but it tries too hard and ends up being a mess.
Wait... what? This is actually supposed to be taken seriously as a drama? I saw the cast and the plot and thought for sure this had to be some sort of satire. I can understand Chan getting into this mess, but who did Cusack and Brody lose a bet to? I hope they were paid well...
One of the worst movie I've ever seen, total crap. I gave 3, one point per Chan, Brody and Cusack.
Its Chan the Man, Cusack the Centurion and Brody the Barbarian in this pantomime masquerading as a serious epic. Its not a bad film but badly edited from the Chinese original and it shows. Scenes end suddenly when you expect more, as if somebody had taken the Dragon Blade and sliced their way through the editing room.
One of those bad Jacky Chan movies, his old works are really way better than this...this story even has no twists
Shout by DeletedBlockedParent2015-12-27T15:27:44Z
I love Jackie Chan old work, but all his recent films have been so cringe-worthy, I can't even finish watching them. First it was Chinese Zodiac, now this. I don't know what demographic they were going for with his recent movies scripts. And why are you dragging John Cusack into this! WHY!