User reviews

Looking at the list of writers involved in this project, it is a fraking miracle that this film is as good as it is. While it is no The Banquet, it is a solid historical epic which features the most layered and complex performance of Jet Li's career.

Loosely based on the Shaw Brothers' 1973 film The Blood Brothers as well as the life and death of General Ma Xinyi, this is a tragedy in the Greek or Shakespearean sense. Jet Li plays General Pang Qingyun, a general of the Ching army whose command is slaughtered by the Taiping rebels while Pang's allies the Ho Army watch and do nothing.

Injured, delirious and with no one left to command, Pang is nursed back to health by a beautiful woman who turns out to be the wife of Andy Lau's bandit leader Zhao Er-Hu. When the Ho Army raids Lau's village, steals their supplies and kills one of his men, Jet Li convinces Er-Hu and his lieutenant Zhang Wen-Xiang (played by Takeshi Kaneshiro) that if they join the Ching Army they will get the respect, money and guns necessary to protect themselves and their village. Pang, Er-Hu and Zhang swear a blood oath to stand together with death as the penalty for oath-breakers.

This starts Pang on his quest to save his country from itself, building an army from the unwanted, the poor, the brigands. In the process, Pang must fight Imperial politics as much as the enemy Taiping rebels. Each step along the way, Pang has to barter away a little piece of his soul to achieve victory, with Zhang reacting with hero-worshipping approval, while Er-Hu becomes increasingly disgusted.

The down side to working with a star of Jet Li's caliber is that in every role he is Jet Li, bringing with it his quiet heroism and idealism. This film turns that drawback into an advantage by casting Jet Li as a man who does increasingly villainous things for the purest of motives. Like a Chinese Robespierre, Pang is trying to build a free, united China on a pyramid of corpses.

The film that The Warlords reminds me of the most is John Ford's The Searchers.

Like The Searchers, The Warlords starts with a massacre. Both films feature characters who leave their homes on an obsessive quest that seems impossible and takes them years to complete.

John Ford uses John Wayne's iconic, heroic status and subverts it, as the obsessive quest slowly destroys Wayne from within. Jet Li's character in The Warlords follows the same arc, beginning his quest with idealistic purity and finishing just inches from total madness. Both men succeed in their quests, Jet Li's Pang in saving his country, Wayne's Ethan Edwards in rescuing his niece, but in both cases their quest is ultimately futile, because what they saved was the reality and what they wanted to save was an ideal. Both men end their films framed in a doorway that they can no longer cross, because their journeys have turned them into men of war who have no place in the world of peace on the other side of the doorway.

I can certainly respect this Chinese production. After all, the battle sequences are huge, the action very real and the look of the film is top-notch. Yet, despite all this I have a few reservations that keep this from being a truly great film.

The first problem is that most non-Chinese will have no idea what's happening much of the time unless they research into the Taiping Rebellion FIRST. While there is a prologue that gives a bit of information, it is very scant--and leaves many, many unanswered questions that you can only understand if you have read up on this era in Chinese history. Some good examples are the significance of the crucifix necklace---the viewer will have no idea where it came from or why it's there. And, who were the rebels and why were they rebelling against the Qing empire? Most importantly, who were the good guys and who weren't? Interestingly enough, who is the hero and villain overall in this rebellion seems to vary over time. During Mao's reign, he felt that the Taiping rebels were the good guys as they represented the forces of socialism (with their redistribution of the land and equality). Today, the prevailing attitude in the country seems to be that the rebels were bad because they brought disunity. ALL of this might have been interesting to learn about in the film, but alas I learned none of this in "Warlords".

Second, while the battle sequences were amazing and I was glad that they didn't make war seem bloodless (oooh, it's VERY bloody in this film!!), the film occasionally suffered from over-kill, per se. In other words, with so many battles and so much killing, the senses are overloaded and the film manages in spite of all the brutality and severed limbs to actually bore--at least it did do with me.

But, despite these serious complaints, I DO recommend you see the film--provided you read up on the facts first. It's a particularly great film to see on the big screen or on a huge plasma TV. And, the plot involving the three blood brothers is pretty interesting and the acting very good. One final important reason to see the film for weirdo purists like me is that you CAN turn off the English-dubbed version and just watch it in Chinese with English subtitles--and I appreciate that option.

In "The Warlords," another rendition of the classic Chinese tale of loyalty and betrayal of three brothers, we see evidence of something many may not realize: when not hampered by his horrible accent, Jet Li can act, in fact, for this role he received an Asian Film Award nomination for Best Actor. He may not be a Deniro or a Denzel, but he's at least got that certain intensity that makes Clint Eastwood. We do not, however, get to see what American audiences know Li for, his martial arts prowess. As winner of the Hong Kong Film Awards both for best film and best director, Peter Chan ("The Eye," 1 through infinity it seems), we see here an exemplary piece of cinema which demonstrates the high quality of movies coming from China today. The cinematography is well done, costumes are excellent, epic battle sequences are choreographed beautifully and the characters and complex character relationships are well developed, sincere and sympathetic. In addition to Li, we see moving performances by Andy Lau, a winner of numerous Asian film awards, and Takeshi Kaneshiro, both who Americans may know from "The House of Flying Daggers." If you are looking for a "Jet Li movie" you may likely find yourself bored. Despite the war background of this movie it is, at heart, a drama, and a very good one at that.

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First of all, I think it's the first movie I've enjoyed in about half a year, so decided to comment. I read the good reviews on this one, and agree with most of them. Everything in this movie is superbly done.

There's little story in this movie and it's more of a background for the characters' portrayal and the battles, both of which amazingly done. The characters' portrayal is very successful due to the great acting. The battles and the fight choreography deserves a solid 9. Both artistic, like the martial arts beauty, and brutal, like real war is.

This movie doesn't have unnecessary emotion, or unnecessary gestures from main characters. That's where this movie succeeds. That's where 'Azumi' or 'Braveheart' succeeded. And that's where 'Troy' and 'Gladiator' failed to deliver. They all have great cinematography, brilliant fight choreography and superb acting staff - but that's only the technical side. 'Warlords' succeeded to deliver in all the aspects. Simple and little story with no over-dramatizing and no inconsistencies.

If one's wondering why I gave only 7, it's because, beside of Er-hu, I didn't find one likable character.

From the Warring States Period going all the way back to the 5th century BC, wars have wracked China seemingly without pause. During the second half of the 19th century, and the late Qing/Ching/Manchu dynasty, some 50 million soldiers, bandits, and civilians died in the endless conflict.

Watching "Warlords," screened for the first time in North America Saturday night in the Castro Theater, part of the San Francisco International Film Festival, at times one might have thought that most of those casualties are shown - often in close-ups - in the film.

Beginning with a view reminiscent of the Normandy invasion sequence of "Saving Private Ryan," the film by Peter Chan and Wai Man Yip depicts combat vividly and intensely. Chung Man Yee's production design peaks at times in virtually unprecedented battle-field spectacles.

There is no resolution, no peace, and only a quasi-relevant love story (featuring Jinglei Xu), but "Warlords" goes well beyond just fightin' and killin' and dyin'. Right from the beginning, as Jet Li's General Pang picks himself up from under the bodies of his dead soldiers, you notice two things: Jet Li's complete lack of vanity and the ability of this martial-arts star to act convincingly and well.

The Manchu style of the head shaved in front and the hair gathered in a ponytail in the back looks hideous when it's all messed up, especially with blood. Jet Li not only appears half dead in his first appearance, but he is taking a bad-hair day to its absolute worst. And then, you also notice that Famous Jet Li - who is NOT flying through the air in this film - has been replaced by an honest and talented actor who brings to life a complex, conflicted, tragic character.

With shifting alliances, goals, and always at the edge of extinction, Pang and his two "blood brothers," Takeshi Kaneshiro's soulful Jiang Wuyang and Andy Lau's towering Zhao Erhu (perhaps Lau's best-ever performance), struggle from small-time wars all the way to the taking of Nanking on behalf of the fast-fading central (so to speak) government in Beijing. The same history-based story has been told, in more modest terms, in Zhang Che's 1973 "The Blood Brothers." A historical war film, a brutal but not gratuitously violent drama, "Warlords" impresses, even stuns, but in the end fails to provide catharsis or even an attempt to make sense of the senseless - something Zhang Yimou came close to in "Hero" (also with Jet Li, playing a similar historic character).

Warlords is a tragedy that left me with a heavy heart. The movie is excellent, but it is filled with a lot of suffering. By the time you realize that, the movie has you already pulled in and you're stuck there, watching the flames engulf everything.

The setting for the film is the Taiping Rebellion, but really the film is not about the war. Instead, it's about survival, fear, betrayal, disillusionment, corruption, death and sacrifice. If you're thinking, "Lighten up a bit," that's what I thought too. While there are moments of triumph and prevailing loyalty, those moments are fleeting.

The quality of this film becomes most apparent when compared to other Chinese productions of similar genre. My memory of watching another historical war movie called Three Kingdoms has become a fading memory on a dusty shelf after I watched Warlords. It's the kind of movie that makes you want to tell others about it.

An excellent cast led by Jet Li makes sure that everything else in the movie is just frosting around the cake of well-developed characters. That's not to say that the frosting is inferior. This movie has everything going for it: choreography, special effects, sound and story. It has a something for everyone, although Warlords is definitely a boys' movie, full of politics, brotherhood and carnage. Actually, for a movie with so many serious themes, the action has over-the-top silly violence, but in any case, it's a sight to behold because of how well it's put together. The story is raw and keeps the mind occupied with some of its steeper turns.

The cinematography is grim, just like the ret of the film. Never before have I felt as cold and as dry while watching a movie. Playing with colour, the artists create a gloomy picture of the situation the poor soldiers find themselves in, as they are stuck in the trenches. Grit and dirt fly off the screen during battles.

If you liked movies like Troy, chances are you'll enjoy this much darker Eastern family member, possibly one of the best movies ever created, but heed this warning: it was so heavy that I don't ever want to see it again.

Last night I had the opportunity to view one of the best films i've seen in a very long time. One that stays with you far after the closing credits. One that requires time after viewing to untie all the knots in your stomach.

Peter Chan's "The Warlords" is a period epic in every sense of the word. Chan covers a lot of ground here depicting war and the consequences thereof consisting of his anti-war sentiments. It tells the story of three "brothers" played brilliantly by Jet Li (Fearless), Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs) and Takeshi Kaneshiro (House Of Flying Daggers) who make a pact of brotherhood to one another that consists of killing anyone who harms one of the brothers and killing any brother who harms another brother as they lead an army through war after war taking over city after city.

It's incredible to watch the thought process of making vital decisions during a battle or within their own army to defy humanity for the "greater good". It shows the internal and external struggle of these decisions by opposing points of view. The emotions felt by these men translate in any language and leave you emotionally drained after watching the film through to its tragic end.

The cinematography is outstanding, the budget is huge, the directing brilliant and the war scenes brutal as can be. We're talking decapitations, gushing blood, limbs sliced off and a man being blown up by a cannonball. Chan is delivering a truth in the brutality of war rather than dressing it up to keep (most of it) realistic.

War is hell.... and this film will take you there and back. Highest recommendation.

I read all the reviews here (there are only 21 by this time)and there were just 2 reviews that didn't come from Asia. Here is a third one. "The Warlords" is a great epic war movie based on historical events:the last decades of the Qing dynasty, in particular the years of the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) that cost the lives of 70 000 000 people (that's 10m more than World War II, but who's counting). I agree that this is the best Chinese movie 2007, though Ang Lee's "Lust.Caution" is very good too. The Warlords movie budget was $ 40 million(after seeing it you will ask yourself "How did they do that with so little money?!?")A production of the same caliber would cost in the US at least $ 100 million. But this movie is the proof that cheap stuff that comes form China isn't always bad.Same with the outstanding performance of Jet Li(out of the $40m budget he received $13m payment)who was worth the money.There is a lot of drama in the movie, but also a lot of action.If you like battle scenes like in "Braveheart" this movie will deliver.If you liked "Crouching Tiger, hidden dragon" and "Hero" you will like this one."The Warlords" though is not a fairytale like those two, it is very realistic and if you are expecting to see people flying around,kung fu fighting or something like that, you will be disappointed.There is none of this here.But the movie is good. ten stars.

This is not Crouching Tiger. It's as good as Hero,House of Flying daggers. You wont be amazed by the CGI special effects. You will be stunned by the intense constant evolution of the story line and relationships between 3 men who have much to learn from each other.

I don't wanna spoil further. I want to say that i am really disappointed in the west for turning a blind eye to eastern movies in general. This movie is an epic. It deserves 20 000 votes. I cannot believe some of the movies that reach Nr 1 at the Box Office when only a relative few informed bothering with movies like this.

This is some timeless movie making.

'The Warlords' is a good film. Not great as expected. Not excellent as I had hoped. From the onset the film felt dated, although some of the battle scenes are absolutely fantastic.

The first half of the film is exciting and action-packed, with some incredible action sequences. Pity then that the film became over-complicated, confusing and far too political during the second half, and towards the end. It also became much slower moving with too much (political) talk.

The film also forces a romance interest into an already crammed premise. There honestly was no need for the Liansheng character in the movie and she didn't really contribute much either. On the contrary, the character ruined some of the interesting moments and - as mentioned - only further complicated the film.

Although 'The Warlords' is an incredible production, it won't go down as one of my favorites, or most memorable films. I must mention Jet Li was very good in this film, in a very different role to what we're used to.

Part martial arts movie, part historical epic, director Peter Chan's film 'The Warlords' recreates the Taiping rebellion in China. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a mess; both in terms of the movements in the action scenes, and in terms of the high politics, I found it very hard to follow who exactly was doing what to whom; but all too easy to get the general drift of a movie that was big on set pieces but low on subtlety. Most crucially, the film conveys no idea whatsoever of what the rebellion was actually about in its story of three "blood brothers" motivated solely by personal oath. The result: lots of blood, but not too much in the way of enlightenment.

this would get 10 stars outright if would only "judge" from the perspective of the most well done "grand" fighting scene (medieval war clash) that i would say, to this date, has no match out there(the way jet Li deals with the canons deployed).

however, while the message is right in its morality by "acceptable" standards, it sets the movie ,as a whole ,not much apart from the previous genre drama movies, if one looks on a "fresh" take war subject matter. as someone here has mentioned already, "war is hell" indeed, but to engage the viewer , the director and screenwriter must explore the causes of war not just simply "use" the human emotions to develop sympathy for such tales especially the ones based on actual history as this one claims as well.i would add at this point that the recent Chinese made "battle of wits" is way superior to this one when it comes to a very similar plot but with better told and untold analysis of "cause and effect" issues. if i would consider this alone, the following feature would only deserve the 5 stars for its mediocrity.

coming to acting, that is pretty good, i would not say special, and jet Li seems better at it then the previous ones( i guess the plot being a serious subject matter helps as well in seeing him as such). the supporting cast give above average performances. the soundtrack is quiet good as well, especially during "build up" sequences. the movie lags a bit in the middle and the epic scale in second part i do not feel that is handled properly at keeping the viewer engaged( basically it sets the emotions going based on brutality and the awesome special effects and then just makes all too predictable). yet, i would say is a great watch regardless.

Set in China in the 1860s, during the Taiping Rebellion. Loosely based on three real warlords, who raised an army to fight against this rebellion and in the process restored the rule of the Qing Dynasty.

Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro play the leads here as the three warlords, who come from different walks of life, but who through the atrocities of war are brought together and end up swearing a blood oath of brotherhood, to stick together and end the war on their terms. The movie very heavily rests on their shoulders and they do not disappoint. The best scenes in this film are those where all three of them face one another, either in unison or in conflict.

Unfortunately the script is somewhat lacking. These three actors could handle heavier stuff, but the dialogue they're given, especially in these situations they're set in, don't quite reach the level of greatness they perhaps could.

The film also looks oddly drab. I guess they wanted to go for a more realistic style, compared to more usual outlandish Chinese historical films, but it still comes off as planned because now everyone is dressed universally in black, which looks outlandish as well, just in a very different way.

To the film's credit, I say that the group battle scenes are really good looking. Some of the best I've seen in years. Although, on the flip side, the individual battles are jerky messes. Especially considering that you had Jet Li as the main character!

Still, it is definitely a film worth checking out if you're into Chinese period war films.

Joint Chinese-Hong Kong venture The Warlords is a somewhat troubled but additionally somewhat interesting account of the relationship between three men, told amidst the backdrop of something far grander, that is the true event of an allusive and mysterious murder that happened in China, in 1870. Rather than have an opinion of or make a statement on these events; it is more a study of power play and control, and how with so much at stake and so many at one's disposal, things can quite feasibly fall drastically apart if trust and loyalty between those within the higher-ups isn't prominent. Alas, the film sounds more interesting than it is; providing us with a collection of interesting ideas and themes but placing them in scenes that feel mechanical and obligatory as everything plays out to the conclusion.

For all the sense of scope and the sheer grandness behind it, what with the hundreds of extras and the vast, open settings; the fact of the matter that The Warlords essentially boils down to the link between these three male individuals, and one additional female, is quite extraordinary. There might even be an argument that the film makes for a better romance picture, and by the end is more interested in the destructive nature of love than lust for power and control over territories. The three men predominantly involved are Zhang Wen-Xiang (Kaneshiro); Zhao Er-Hu (Lau) and Pang Qingyun, who is played by Jet Li. The film thrusts us into the the forefront of Qing Dynasty China, with a nasty; sweaty; bloody battle coming to an end in which Jet Li's character General stumbles away as the sole survivor of his forces following the dishonourable act of pretending to have been killed so as to avoid further fighting. From here, a certain female by name of Lian (Xu) is introduced, as are the other two mentioned warriors; both of whom are happy to join Pang's military connections when it appears all is lost for the clan-come-townspeople they live with following a raid which leaves them starving and in bad shape. As one observes: "Better dead than this life". Over the course of The Warlords, these four characters' will have their lives transformed as they venture, interact and conquer with one another.

But it's frustrating how the film doesn't seem to seal the deal with aplomb. The new recruits are pretty content with their new roles as sword wielding, uniform-clad soldiers whose job it is to seriously injure the opposing force; and there's that sense amongst them that they want to fight and want to push on into battle in order to get that chance. It's here that, indeed maybe for some, the characters' attitudes will echo those of the watching audience who are brought in under the pretense they're initially in for an action film. It's here that The Warlords touches on another dominant aspect, or theme, of the war genre. To pluck a random example out of the air, cast your mind back to 1986's Platoon and how that film's first person retelling of what war was really like got across a sense of not wanting to be there; not wanting the uniform and the weapon and really getting across a sense of terror. The Warlords sees its characters invite the warfare, indeed violence is got across as the only way in which to solve problems in the film.

There is also that sense of repetition; that sporadic and unnatural flow of battle scenes inter-cut with visits to the Quing lords for reinforcements as well as a few instances in which the trouble amidst the three lead males is becoming more and more apparent. Sprinkle in a couple of silly proverbs-come-one-liners such as "Dying is easy, living is tough." and the reassurance that "Loyalty is everything." and you have pretty wavy, uneasy passage of scenes. Trouble is, most of the conflict within the higher-ups is moderately interesting at best, with conflict arising over how rapists ought to be punished and whether, in one particularly cold blooded scene, dozens of prisoners of war should be executed. While there isn't much in the way of suspense nor peril during most of the battle scenes; in the sense you don't have the immediate feeling that anyone is in danger; or might get hurt or injured.

The film creaks and thuds into its final third, with the character of Lian taking the reins and driving the actions of these men as their antagonism changes from push to shove. The film has been released in various countries with various different levels of distribution over the last couple of calendar years, hitting Asia in late 2007 before gradually crawling across Europe, in certain forms, between the winter of 2008 and into the spring of 2009. In 2010, it'll get its American release and I think it'll do well; what with its overall arc of nobodies or 'underdogs' rising out of their respective shells and attempting to become big fish by taking them on at their own game. I think the casting of Jet Li and the promise of some big battle scenes all blended together with a romance sub-plot which'll form the basis for a love triangle spells good things, financially. It's probably worth seeing, overall, but I did not feel as involved as much as I would have liked.

..for a movie that's a bit difficult for Western audiences to enjoy. I mean, let's face it, we're not exactly suckers for blood oaths as the main plot device, which is the case here, and the story may feel hard to follow at times.

Two things made be enjoy this one. For one thing, the Chinese did a pretty good job as far as giving the movie the proper epic side it needed. There's only a fine line between epic cinematography and drollery and these guys managed not to cross it, unlike, say, Gladiator or '300'.

Then, there's the acting. Having only seen Jet Li in Hollywood movies before I thought he was something of a Jackie Chan without the funny face. I stand corrected, he gives a great performance in Tau Ming Chong, he is truly believable as his character, general Pang, gradually turns into a ruthless backstabbing freak for power. Finally, kudos to the actor playing Er Hu, Andy Lau. I hope I'll get to see more of him.

Having seen the abominable blockbuster that 'The Last Samurai' really is the other night, it definitely enhanced my appreciation for this title.

(This comment was deleted by IMDb based on an abuse report filed by another user) Tau Ming Chong is adapted from a previous Hong Kong film Ci Ma, based on a real historical event.

Rather then to tell the story and spoil the interests of reader, I'd like to express some thoughts after watching this film.

It is a film intends to tell a story happened between manhood under the historical background of Qing Dynasty, and it is like what Director stated, this film is about the fraternal relation and emotions.

General Ma, Xinyi/Pang, Qingyun (Jet Li) is a person who gived in the power, while Yang Er-hu (Andy Lau) has deepest beliefs and passions in fraternity among three and Jiang, Wuyang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) never meant to be a leader and was cheated and stood the wrong side. However, Xu, Jinglei's character - Liansheng, appeared to be very ambiguous and most time accessorial.

It revealed that the fraternity can also be very as ugly as darkside of love - cheating, manipulating, betray and adultery. After all, the truth is mostly veiled and even opposited to what are believed.

Recently we have been hit by a surge of Asian Cinema and historical war epics, The Warlords is one of them and with Jet Li you get some amazing action. Some of the greatest action war scenes i've ever seen were in this film, capturing the raw battle of swords and spears it really hits you.

Jet Li puts in an amazing action performance, but also an emotional one also as he plays the role in this film with passion. Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro put in powerhouse performances also, even clashing swords themselves in some amazing set-pieces. The epic scale of the film is evident, in some amazing scenes as you can see thousands of extras as warriors fill the screen.

To me The Warlords is just as good as Saving Private Ryan or any other big Hollywood war epics, because it captures the same raw passion of the period of time as well as the amazing fighting styles then. Even the gore and violence is realistic of the time, due to the brutality of the era of warfare. All in all The Warlords is worth seeing for all epic war fans, who want to see some amazing battle scenes.

The only issues I had was that it was too short for my liking, and something on such a big epic scale should have been longer.

By 1861, the Christian Taiping Rebellion from its capital Nanking has conquered half of Imperial China. The corrupt Ching court orders General Pang Qingyun (Jet Li) to join with General Ho in an attack on the rebels. General Ho is a corrupt powerful leader. He withdraws his forces and lets Pang's men be massacred. Pang escapes by pretending to be dead. Jiang Wuyang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Zhao Erhu (Andy Lau) leads a local militia. Zhao Erhu is unwilling to take in Pang and then General Ho's men confiscate provisions from them. The three men join in a blood oath to lead a loyalist militia to battle the rebels all the way to Nanking. Qingyun has an affair with Erhu's wife Liansheng laying the seed for their destruction by Ho and the corrupt court.

There are tons of rooting interest problems. There is a main villain in Ho and a bunch of little villains in the court. Yet the three heroes never fight against them. They fight rebels who are perfectly honorable, by the movie's own notions. In fact, the Taiping commander does the most selfless act in the entire movie. This makes the big battles not much fun. The audience is forced to root for commanders working for Darth Vader. This is essentially a Greek tragedy and the movie should know that. It tries to be an action adventure war movie and that only highlights its tonal problems. Jet Li's character is terribly flawed in so many ways. This should be Shakespearian, not Michael Bay.

well, what shall i say....the film was long, kinda brutal and there were a lots of fake mustaches. i could only bare to watch this film to the end, because an friend synchronized it while this....irritating story was going on....and on...and it didn't stop! jet li, well, the worst acting by him ever, whereas he was much better in his other films. also he became fat, and the filmmakers seemed to be afraid, that if there had been more acrion scenes (which i was waiting for) also, whats seems to be typical for Asian films, is the "love"story inserted in this masterpiece of fake mustaches...not improving the film a bit or making it more interesting. all in all a good film, when you're boozed and imagine, that brave scotish freeodom fighters try to free their country....wait, this was something else...oh, what a pity!