The Lost Bladesman, review

Loosely based on the hyper-stylized, historical epic Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, directors Felix Chong and Alan Mak’s movie The Lost Bladesman is an alternate retelling of General Guan Yu’s (Donnie Yen) journey to rejoin with his friend and warlord Liu Bei. The story is also partly narrated by chancellor and rival warlord Cao Cao (Jiang Wen) during his attendance and sponsorship of the general’s funeral, reminiscing on how Guan Yu was a truly righteous man possessing the body of a wolf and the soul of a sheep. Cao Cao then flashbacks to 20 years prior, when Guan Yu is among his VIP prisoners as China collapses into civil war during the closing years of the 2nd Century CE.

Calculating and ever on the lookout for talent, Cao Cao immediately recognizes Guan Yu as an immensely powerful tool that must serve him and will use every honest and dishonest tactic he can to sway Guan Yu into joining him. Yet failing that, Cao Cao begrudgingly allows Guan Yu to return to Liu Bei along with his would-be love interest and Liu Bei’s concubine, Qilan (Betty Sun). However Guan Yu soon realizes that their release from captivity is a dangerous escort mission through enemy territory.

Cao Cao enjoying the labors of being a politician

Performing as Cao Cao, at times Jiang seems to be doing the work of two actors as Donnie’s Guan Yu is a heavily reactive character, often possessing a blank existence until he has something to blandly respond to during a conversational or action scene. The flat stoicism he portrays for Guan Yu not only makes him an uninteresting central character, but it can confusingly seem that Cao Cao is the film’s true central character whenever Jiang enters a scene. Meanwhile Betty’s Qilan is underused beyond looking beautiful, looking frightened and being protected.

After around 45-minutes of Cao Cao’s political seduction in the first act, the story steps back from tepid historical drama and towards action entertainment as Guan Yu and Qilan’s are halted on the first leg of their journey at Dongling Pass, guarded by the spear-wielding General Kong Xiu (Andy On). This becomes the first of five fight scenes that bar the duo’s safe passage.

Once a brawl starts their expressions never change

Guan Yu manages to brandish his own weapon-of-choice, the guandao or yanyuedao, a broadsword-like blade attached to a staff. The highlight of this fight comes when both fighters are confined in an alleyway, limiting the maneuverability of their polearms. Guan Yu’s wide sweeping slashes are robbed of both their momentum and space. Kong Xiu however is free to thrust, stab, vertically swing, and even pole vault in such a restricting space with ease. But, by choking on the length of his guandao to shorten its range, Guan Yu finally manages to gain the upper hand.
During this fight scene Donnie, who also headed the film’s fight choreography, establishes Guan Yu’s character profile as fighter and will repeat it through the movie. Though of average size and build, Guan Yu possesses an effortless superhuman strength that lets him cave in a helmet with a headbutt, knock men off their feet and flying into the air, or single-handedly beat back an entire shield wall. But even with his strength he is a an agile and reactive fighter. Letting his foes initiate the attack, escaping or dodging, attacking defensively, and disengaging when being aggressive. And beyond occasionally furrowing his brow, Donnie’s overly stoic Guan Yu communicates little emotion, exertion or duress during his battles compared to the effort, straining, and roaring of his opponents through the movie. It could be inferred that Guan Yu is bored of fighting or never meets anyone strong enough to pose a challenge to him, but that feels more of an excuse for the blank acting given to the character.

The further fights to follow after Kong Xiu are sadly left wanting. Progressively they lack the energy or threat level beyond the environmental to make Guan Yu feel like he’s in any real peril, turning a fight that should have been an appetizer into the main course instead. Guan Yu’s second battle has him inside a dark, ill-lit two-story smithery facing dozens upon dozens of soldiers while poisoned and coughing up his own blood. The cinematography of the entire scene is ill-conceived with its mix of dark clothing, poorly lit areas, and large dark spaces obscuring much of the fight that pauses a few times when Guan Yu must catch his breath to remind you he’s been poisoned. And then resume mowing down handfuls of soldiers with ease.

We said no peeking!

After recovering his health, Guan Yu then encounters General Bian Xi (Yu Ailei) and his troops at Yishui Pass for a battle that is both comedic and annoying. Surrounded by Bian Xi and his small army, the double-door gates suddenly slam shut on the camera, leaving the audience outside to stare at the gate and listen to the clamor of battle. After 30-seconds the doors slowly open to reveal Guan Yu standing amid a field of corpses and dying men. Stoically walking away from the carnage, the scene’s cinematography and brevity further highlight that there is no person or unit to rival his strength and that his foes become weaker with each fight.

 

Arriving in Xingyang, Guan Yu faces off against governor Wang Zhi (Wang Xuebing), a sword-wielder with a blade as long as a polearm. Perhaps this is one of the movie’s many moments that can be better understood if one is familiar with the source material, but it is never explained what is afflicting Wang Zhi. Whether by sickness or fatigue, he slowly grows weaker throughout his fight with Guan Yu. Fighting on fumes and desperation, each time Wang Zhi engages his attacks become wilder and sloppier. Guan Yu, believing Wang Zhi to be a good man and no match for him, fights defensively to refrain from killing him and repeatedly knocks him to the ground or disarms him with ease.

This is Guan Yu's [insert emotion] expression

Guan Yu’s final and unimpressive confrontation is in a fog-laden forest dodging crossbow snipers in the trees and swordfighting those on the ground until Cao Cao steps in to finally offer Guan Yu and Qilan safe passage. The unsatisfying scuffle concludes with a text crawl of Guan Yu fighting for another 20 years besides Liu Bei and flashforward return to Guan Yu’s funeral. There Cao Cao laments that Guan Yu was underutilized but can still serve him in death.

Jumping back-and-forth between period piece drama and martial arts action when one becomes ponderous makes this movie unimpressive in both categories. These tempo changes causes the movie’s pacing to stumble while changes in cinematic styles for each fight don’t blend well with one another nor the surround drama scenes. The story’s attempt to portray Guan Yu as a torn hero who must struggle with loyalty, personal happiness, and life-or-death battles proves unconvincing or nonexistent when the actor plays him so stalwartly stoic that a statue can play the role and leaves me wanting to story to be more about scene stealing Cao Cao.

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Martial Artsy Guandao of Wisdom:

"Only liquor can release sorrow."

—Cao Cao to Guan Yu