Brotherhood of Blades 2

This second installment actually serves as a prequel to the first one. And unlike the previous series, this time there are lots of intrigues and twists here and there that make the viewers guess who is the real bad guy.

There are many one-on-one fights, battlefield battles and duels against troops will make wuxia fans cheer for joy throughout the movie. There are many swordman characters with their special weapons, which makes this movie different from the previous series.

Btw, don't miss the end credit scene at the end of the film. Although short, it is the link between the two film series.

This film mixed martial art and a love story. It defies logic. First, the lead female character was in love with two men. One of them was a successor to become the emperor, and another is a captain of the emperor's guard/imperial police. If the emperor wants both his love interest and the captain to be dead, it defies logic that he would restore the captain to his job later. Second, the bridge scene is humoring the audience. All the escapees from the emperor could have chopped the rope bridge off after crossing. Instead, they decided to defend the bridge whilst outnumbered, and chopped the bridge later. This film storyline is fundamentally flawed and insults the audience's intelligence.

Images, layout and respect for history are examples of domestic entertainment films. It's a pity that the plot is too hard to deal with, so we have to add emotional drama.

Well crafted story with lots of action sequence. No need of see part I to see this movie. Though same characters included here still film can enjoy as a separate one. Story may have synopsis but narration and the emotions are admirable. Plus point for the action sequences, as always Chinese movies stand out in that area. So you won't be disappointing this action packed historical drama. Characters settings is pretty nice. One could say too much of melodrama but I think it is necessary to have engaging story.

Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield is a prequel of Brotherhood of Blades released three years earlier. However, you don't necessarily need to know the latter to understand the former. Some of the characters and the settings are alike but the story is a different one that even contradicts some elements shown in the first film.

Stylistically, we get a stylish wu xia movie with some conspiracy elements. The characters use arrows, daggers, swords and bare hands and feet to fight and most fight sequences look quite realistic. The opening sequence suffers from heavy CGI effects but the rest of the movie convinces with stunning landscapes and beautiful costumes. The locations are more diversified than in the first film. The conspiracy is similar to the first movie as Imperial Assassin Shen Lian gets caught in a conflict between a group of rebels supporting the emperor's younger brother and the emperor, his eunuch and government officials. Shen Lian tracks down some of the rebels before he decides to save a female painter he sympathizes with. From then on, he tries to cover his actions up and gets progressively involved with the group of rebels. However, he soon realizes that some of his colleagues are two-faced and that he can't trust anyone.

There are only a few minor reasons why I like this second film a little bit less than the first one. First of all, the exaggerated opening sequence doesn't start the movie on a positive note. Secondly, the side characters aren't as intriguing as in the first film. Thirdly, the movie's ending feels rushed and the scene after the credits is a waste of time.

However, if you like dynamic historical fiction cinema, Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield delivers the goods. It's stylish, filled with action, passion and tension and is entertaining from start to finish. Even though you don't need to be familiar with the first film to understand this prequel, I would recommend watching the former first because it's the better movie. If you like it, you can't go wrong with this one either.