14 Blades

Any true fans of kung fu know we watch these films for one reason and one reason only. The action! And this film was no disappointment in that regard whatsoever. The action was never gone for long from the screen, and every sequence was a sight to behold. Of course, a somewhat intelligible story is a good bonus. Guess what, this has that too. In my opinion, this is Donnie Yen's best film since IP Man. Also, unlike IP Man, it has great re-watch ability. This is very highly recommended to any true fans of the genre who want to see some mind blowing unique action, with some incredibly crazy weaponry. 9/10 stars, one of my favorites.

This is another martial arts flick with weapons and it's a pretty good one at that, just isn't great. Mainly it's because the story is sort of flat although all over the place at times. But I liked the comic book style of this movie and since it works sometimes. The title of this movie is the weapons that Donnie Yen's character carries around with him in a wooden box, but they mostly all look generic. Although each weapon has it's purpose, but you can't tell which weapon is which while watching for the most part. Also the 14 blades isn't even used in a special manner, it just seemed like regular swords for the most part. It would have been cool if it showed each weapon with a distinctive different look and style of fighting to it. But that just doesn't apply to this movie for the most part. What starts out as a bit over the place plot while being somewhat interesting quickly becomes a romance movie between Donnie Yen and Zhao Wei's characters. However the fight choreography is done really well in this and doesn't come off as being super lame to watch or anything like that. It seems like Donnie Yen's talent is increasing with every martial arts movie he is in. The set pieces are well crafted as well and if the plot carried it's own weight as well, this would have been a great martial arts movie.

5.8/10

This MA drove me into writing my first movie review in IMDb. Yet another one of Donnie Yen's best, I would say. Less meaningful impact than 'Ip Man' and 'Bodyguards and Assassins' in terms of overall storyline but for original ancient MA screenplay, this was a very good one. It's a martial art movie with a non-cheesy love story (I could remember The Myth for MA+cheesy love story).

Character developments were mainly focused on the protagonists (Donnie and Vicky), especially their attraction to each other. What I personally like most about this movie were their love story, creative martial art moves(as usual in most Donnie Yen's movie) and some comical relief from Donnie Yen. A much improved pairing since 'Painted Skin' where they both lack of connection to each other. Just like in recent movies, Donnie Yen never failed his viewers and this time gave even more, by showing off his tattooed six pack torso. And this was by far my favourite character from him, as the anti-hero Green Dragon on his deadly pursue for redemption. And not forgetting his 14 blades, even thought it's the title of the movie but not really the highlight throughout the movie, unlike 'Seven Swords'. Disappointingly, except that we knew the name and functionality of each blade, we never really see them in action, and when they did, I was not sure which blade was being used.

As for the nemesis acted by a promising young TVB star, Kate Tsui, personally I am not a fans of her, and I think she looks too young for a great assassin. I would prefer if they could cast some really talented martial art actor with convincing moves and not just some lifeless and 'pretty' stances from young stars, and heavily CG-ed MA move from Tuo Tuo, especially her disrobing move. Same goes to the other anti-hero Wu Chun's Judge. I did not recognize him instantly as I was not into Taiwan boyband scene but I know right away he is some sort of young model or prettyboy actor. A lot of cool and pretty pose from him but his character serves no purpose, well, maybe his character will earn my acknowledgement if he looked older and less prettyboy. Their acting skill? Don't expect much, just enjoy their costume and weapons, OK.

At the end of this movie, I feel that I will watch this movie again but just for Donnie Yen and Vicky Zhou.

I tried 3 times, but there was no chemistry, the style doesn't appeal to me, and the story didn't involve me...

"14 Blades" represents the best M.A. movie I have even watched. Thanks to Daniel Lee who wrote this gorgeous piece of art work which portrays some positive human qualities lacking in so many M.A. movies. Qing Long (played by Donnie Yen) possesses some noble qualities of integrity, loyalty, commitment & courage, though a bit ruthless & cunning at times. Qiao Hua (played by Vicky Zhao) is faithful, gentle & optimistic. Another thing I like about this movie is that there are relatively few violent or bloody scenes.

Not a professional action scenes reviewer, I'd rather concentrate on talking about the movie's "Romance". On the surface, Qing Long seems to be using Qiao Hua for completing his own mission, but the trust between them makes their romantic connection very convincing. Qiao Hua, though a bit naive & ignorant of certain personality darkness of her hero, is actually fully committed to him for completing his course of action, thus demonstrating full customer service (we have to bear in mind that Qing Long is a big customer of Qiao Hua's father). Implication for modern day romance is:- Be fully devoted to your lover (rather than being over calculating) when you still have a chance & accept life as it is when you have none.

Qiao Hua shows a cheerful personality & maintains her serenity throughout the whole story, without the slightest resentment towards Tuo Tuo, who brings an end to her romantic journey. This makes her adjust better to the lonely life afterwards. Though the ending is a bit sad, it demonstrates how single women can still lead a meaningful life with the pure memory of delightful experience. This kind of attitude may sound a bit "classical" but forms a great example for people in turmoil situations.

I sincerely hope that Daniel Lee can produce more wonderful M.A. movies in the future, but with a happy ending next time. Donnie Yen & Vicky Zhao do create a perfect match on the screen ("Painted Skin" is a good example). Really looking forward to seeing them again soon in another great movie. Just to copy from Qiao Hua, "When there is hope, life is still inspiring!"