If notoriously downmarket “chopsocky” filmmakers of Asian cinema in eras past had access to CGI for “bullet time” stuntwork and scenic digital vistas (not to mention distributors okay with the Chinese language, not cheapo dub jobs), many negligible old programmers might have looked as great as The Emperor’s Sword. At B-movie length, the handsome item is a not-terribly-original "wuxia" period-action premise, given just about the maximum majesty and kinetic visual panache by co-director Yingli Zhang and Haonan Chen.
Going back millennia (as in The Emperor and the Assassin) to early unified China – a practically Tolkienesque, primordial landscape of armored hordes, spears, and arrows—the tale happens in the era of the first Qin emperor. He forged rebel provinces together with aid of a set of warrior-philosopher-advisors, the “Seven Gentlemen.” After the death of the Qin emperor, all but one of the seven have retired to peaceful, civilian lives.
In a rather questionable measure to ensure the continuation of the dynasty, a legendary sword was forged in two parts and divided. Only the one who holds them combined can rule China. After ten years, an ambitious minister stages a palace assassination/coup, then tries to seize the missing “Dongqin Sword” from its guardian Meng family. The entire household is killed except for precocious daughter Xue (Hayo Yilin), who escapes, wounded, with the prized sword. Under the protection of young warrior/folklore character Han Jue (Zhao Q1-Hang) and other loyalists, she seeks out the remaining Seven Gentlemen.
Results are surprisingly downbeat, and a comparison may well be made with Zhang Yimou’s masterful Hero (2002); both films carry a message of sacrifice, and characters who are more complicated and tragically cross-purposed than simple good ninjas/bad ninjas (though a few here are simplified to little more than battlers). Western viewers may ponder uneasily the epic’s apparent underlying message in the face of the authoritarian regime running Beijing today: for China to progress, many honorable and brave people had to die, even at each other’s hands.
Closing credits show off behind-the-scenes clips of the action scenes and Japanese-manga-style artwork interpretations of what we have just seen, courting the Asian pop-youth market as much as any old nationalists. So maybe best not to overthink The Emperor’s Sword as much besides familiar Chinese imperial mythos redone in splendid costuming and wire-stunt martial arts. Though doubtless, Beijing authorities approved the message, and conservative film collections will salute the absence of sex, profanity, or extreme gore. A strong addition to foreign-language library shelves and library film collections with a specialization in martial arts cinema.
Discover more titles for your film collection in our list of action movies.