
...more after the jump.
And rounding out the three blood brothers is Takeshi Kaneshiro as Wen-Xiang. Kaneshiro can be seen in the new John Woo movie Red Cliff, and he may very well be a great actor; however, in this he simply looks like a tortured and confused man. Every reaction shot comes with a furrowed brow and anguished face, but this could be attributed to an underwritten part as much as it is to an actor's skill.
The script, for the most part, is good, although, the love triangle between Er-Hu, his wife, and Qing could have been done away with completely. There's enough tension in the situations without having to constantly be going back to the romantic strife. Sure, the missus ultimately ends up being a catalyst, but who's to say what really happened.
The film claims to be based on real events, but the post-script on the black screen somewhat undoes the narrative that unfolds on the screen. It was like the, "this very well could have happened, but we're not really sure at all beyond the battles and such." Even without this at the end, during my viewing I found the film to be strangely uninvolving. It was an enjoyable watch, but it didn't affect you.
Warlords is a solid entry into the epic Asian cinema catalogue. It's less elegant than Crouching Tiger, not as well made as Hero, and has less action than Fearless. The performances are strong, and the battle scenes are good, but there's a certain something missing from the mix.
--Greg MacLennan