Brotherhood of Blades (2014) User Reviews

Excellent Wuxia Watch with a Western Feel

[TheCalcium · 8/10 · 24 January 2016]

I watch a lot of Wuxia movies and Japanese war/Sengoku/Restoration ones. This includes shorts, fully fledged full motions, and animation.

While many fail to provide a relevant plot line, or have a messy script, "Brotherhood of Blades" manages to satisfy the *unprofessional* eye.

Fighting sequences Unlike during the classic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", here you get fights and jumps which seem reasonable. For those of you who are interested in the Asian martial arts, you will see that they have focused on hits and slashes used in some of them. The mass fights are somewhat "wait for one to fall, attack after that" for the enemy, but still satisfying.

Music This is the only area in which the movie ended-up being like a dud bomb. My personal opinion is that the "epic" musical pieces which accompanied my watching the movie were misplaced. Most of the times they were too epic for the scene they represented. However, when there was real need for an epic piece, it failed to deliver.

Romance As we have three main male characters, we also have three main romantic endeavours. These micro-stories focus on two entirely different women and a career. (Yes, I just called the career something of a romantic companion). Both love stories seemed classic for the age in which the movie is set, and the overall attitude of the female characters was pleasurable to watch.

Overall Plot Lines In reality, the movie pays little to no attention to the very Manchurian vs Han war, although it is key in a specific scene. The whole story is mainly focused on the three assassins, as hinted to by the title. Instead, we focus on a certain piece of the shared story of three imperial assassins. They encounter corruption, theft, treason, conspiracy, death of a close one, and more.

Now, about the Western feel - I do believe this movie is not a typical Wuxia representative, as it does use a lot of exceptionally pretty effects to enforce the colours, some battle scenes and blood splatter. However, it does not by any means seem to me to be too un-Chinese (if there is such a thing).

Disclaimer: This is my first full IMDb review. Bear with me and my non-professional take on things :)

A nice tale of corruption in ancient China, told by overly melodramatic characters

[quincytheodore · 6/10 · 5 April 2015]

With the betrayal and corruption theme, Brotherhood of the Blades resembles a gangster movie set in modern era, though the choice on making it with martial art effect was a sound one. It delivers the story with different perspectives of the main characters equally, as well as admirable action sequences. Nonetheless, it is bogged down by a couple of unrealistic characterizations. There are several subplots which are simply hard to relate to, especially when these characters act in such excessively theatrical manner.

Story revolves around three brothers who work as elite officers, occasionally moonlighting as assassins. Despite the dangerous line of work, they are still troubled by various issues, mostly pertaining money. When a chance to gain riches comes, with life-threatening conspiracy behind it, they must decide how to deal with the precarious situation. The film is at its best when it depicts the three leads continuously.

Each of them has their own problem, their actions have further consequences that affect the others. This results in a mild wit battle against the villain, though it's not fully realized. Acting for the leading role is good, these brothers are sympathetic and easy to cheer for, mainly since everyone else is completely corrupt. Unfortunately, this shared spotlight doesn't always work. At some points the subplots are reaching too far and the acting performance suffer from it.

Supporting characters like the courtesan occasionally acts in blank stare or unidentifiable emotion. Others seem like they are shoehorned to bolster the cast or vilified just for the sake of creating unlikeable personas. Not only that, these on-screen characters also make awful decisions. For a movie with a lot tension and drama, these moments feel forced and exhausting to watch.

Choreography is still great, a boon for martial art movie. The action moves fluidly and precisely. I personally like how the film is very confident on how it uses terrains or weapons for the spectacle. Brotherhood of Blades could've been better if it had used more restraint on a couple of its subplots, nevertheless the mix of crime drama and stylish martial art will entertain the fans of this genre.

Brotherhood of Blades

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 17 December 2015]

The international title is very fitting, though I can't tell you what the original title means. If you like Eastern movies, and especially the ones with swords involved in the action, you will like this too. The action is amazing and you can tell it's never easy to shoot and make those fights as believable as we see them here.

The story is pretty decent and easy to follow (maybe to easy for some, but you can't always have complex stories). It's about Honor, love and betrayal, so some might call it overly dramatic in its structure, but you have to have some pillars to build your story around. And then have the fighting mean something: Great stunts and good enough acting overall

Great Swordsmanship

[Foutainoflife · 7/10 · 7 November 2018]

This movie has some awesome action scenes. It is centered around Imperial Assassins being caught in the crosshairs of corruption. It is literally a tale where you can't win for losing. There's some drama to it that was sorta "blah" but the action scenes make up for it. I enjoyed it.

Fan of Wuxia

[kelly-gaudreau · 7/10 · 11 August 2021]

I am beginning to find myself as a fan of wuxia films. They are proving to be entertaining and the storylines do keep you involved. Thoroughly enjoyed the Brotherhood.

Intrigues

[lyx-1 · 9/10 · 14 May 2016]

This is one of the best Chinese period movie by far. The tale has enough plot twists to hold the audience's interest, the action is not too CGI wirefu, the persistent theme of brotherhood in Woo's movie is well-executed, the acting is low key and believable. Can't understand the low ratings, except perhaps there's disappointment in anticipating more choreographed action.

The tale of corruption, ruthlessness and court intrigues sets the backdrop for the historic fall of the Ming Dynasty to the Manchurian Qing Dynasty. The chaos, killings, double betrayals, etc. characterize the perils of a realm in decay, and the ascend of an external threat. The movie is stronger for not shying away from the portrayal and in offering an uncomfortable end.

For once, the plot, characters and the historic backdrop actually held my interest more than the swordplay. For this I awarded a higher rating to mitigate the down votes from those expecting a wuxia blood splattered wirefu action and were disappointed to see mediocre bladework.

Some good stuff here...

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 28 November 2020]

BROTHERHOOD OF BLADES is a film blessed with an interesting, conspiracy-focused historical storyline and some watchable action sequences, but it also suffers from the problems associated with mainland Chinese cinema. Thus, we get a relatively simple storyline that's bagged down in endless padding with lots of unnecessary dialogue, character and complexity that adds nothing at all apart from to slow down the proceedings. In addition, the casting is particularly bland, with lots of earnest but interchangeable faces adding nothing to the fun. I had the pleasure of watching this on Blu-ray and it looks beautiful in high definition, with costumes, staging and action handled well, so it's just a pity that it didn't have a bit more substance to it.

Complex conspiracies during a dying Ming dynasty

[kluseba · 8/10 · 12 May 2018]

Brotherhood of Blades is a very entertaining wu xia movie. It combines dynamic martial arts and sword fights with historical costumes and settings and a dramatic dose of suspense in form of complex conspiracies. The greatest thing about the movie is that its outcome is quite unpredictable. Until the final fifteen minutes, it's not exactly clear who is friend and who is foe. This is a welcome change to Hollywood films featuring a lone wolf protagonist who fights his corrupted superiors. Until the final scene, it remains a mystery who is going to survive or not. Once again, this is a great change from Hollywood movies featuring a protagonist who is going to survive against all odds. This film will keep you on the edge of your seat until its dramatic resolution.

The story revolves around three Imperial Assassins who are charged to eliminate powerful eunuch Wei who has become a nuisance for the young Ming dynasty emperor. However, the leader of the trio decides to spare the eunuch and accepts a bribe instead without telling his colleagues. Back in the capital, the three sworn brothers are both tracked down by the eunuch's numerous followers who want them to take their secret to the grave and by suspicious government officials who realizes something is afoul. As if that weren't enough, they have to face numerous personal challenges. The youngest of the trio has fallen in love with the local pharmacist's daughter, the second assassin wants to buy the freedom of a prostitute who despises him for having participated in killing her family and the oldest assassin is tricked into getting promoted to be under constant surveillance. The trio decides it must flee the capital city in order to save their lives but their enemies give everything to try to prevent their escape.

Aside the fascinating story, the movie convinces with a gloomy and tense atmosphere that brings the dying Ming dynasty back to life. The emotional acting performances are very solid and show three overall sympathetic protagonists with strong moral compasses but quite a few personal weaknesses as well which makes them dynamic and round characters. The fight choreographies are intense and not as exaggerated as one is used to from numerous other wu xia movies. This approach suits the film's more authentic tone.

Brotherhood of Blades might not reinvent the genre but is one of the very best movies of its kind in recent memory. Especially the plot is truly intriguing while the film's atmosphere, settings, acting and choreographies are other positive elements. The movie became such an unexpected success that it spun off a prequel released three years later. If you like Asian cinema, you can't go wrong with Brotherhood of Blades.

Great movie

[skullfire-48012 · 9/10 · 15 July 2021]

Well acted, scripted and directed, there's nothing to not like about this film.