Notable Cast: Fengbin Mu, Yilin Hao, Qihang Zhao, Qiyu
Yang
The pandemic changed a lot of things in the film industry.
At this point, discussion about the box office and the explosive expansion of
streaming services are well-known discussion topics. To be fully honest, I’m a
bit tired of talking about the birth of streaming, the death of ‘cinema’, and
whether or not films that are released straight to a streaming service count as
TV movies or Movie movies. I can only get into so many fights on social media
before it ceases to be interesting. Let’s not forget though, that this change
is happening all over the world.
Case in point, The Emperor’s Sword was released to
the Chinese streaming service Youku was picked up for distribution in the US
via Well Go USA where it received its premiere on their streaming services, Hi
Yah, before receiving a full-fledged Blu Ray release. It’s not the first film
of this ilk to receive this kind of treatment and, yes, there is a cheaper look
to the film and budgetary restraints that tend to limit the film’s tonality and
approach, but The Emperor’s Sword is a much better film than expected.
Perhaps I was just craving a newer wuxia film that doesn’t bombard its audience
with bullshit CGI monsters and wanna-be Hollywood blockbuster spectacle, but
there is a simplicity and classic tone to the core of this flick that hit me
just right.
The Emperor’s Sword does start off stumbling out of
the gates. The opening sequence explains the history of the titular sword and a
bit of history regarding seven martial heroes and some political intrigue about
how the sword will be needed post-coup. A shoddy CGI riddled battle sequence
certainly doesn’t bode well to set the tone and the manner it spews exposition
through voice-over feels like the film is already cutting corners to get the
film on track.
To add a perplexing component to that opening is that, as
soon as the main plot starts with a young woman tasked with getting part of The
Emperor’s Sword from point A to point B, none of that exposition or the
battle sequence was needed. The film immediately throws down into a ‘chase
film’ structure and it leans heavily into the classic lightning pacing of old
school 1960s Shaw Brothers wuxia films. In this choice, the film revolves
around a lot of secondary characters that pop up to help out the young woman on
the run, but the quick pace and gimmicky side characters add a bit of fun to
the mixture. The overall balance between more serious human emotional moments
and the fun of its action-packed wuxia concept is not always in sync, but it’s
admirable and smart considering its limited budget.
The budget of The Emperor’s Sword is certainly its
biggest obstacle. There are some fun sets and costume designs at play here, but
there is a cheap look to all of it that requires quite of bit of suspension of
disbelief for its audience to buy into. The performances are wildly hit or miss
from role to role, despite a couple of solid casting choices with Fengbin Mu
and Qiyu Yang, but the film uses the characters in ways that don’t necessarily
need them to carry the weight of its narrative outside of a few key scenes in
the latter half. Again, despite some of its difficulties, co-directors Yingli
Zhang and Haonan Chen work around them in some clever ways that limit potential
rerailing issues.
As for the action set pieces, this is where The Emperor’s
Sword is attempting to do its most stylish and bold moves. With its first
non-battlefield fight sequence, the film throws down its first foray into its
style which is meant to showcase the no-cut, sweeping camera motions that move
throughout the sequence, zooming in on characters and sliding between regular
speed and slow motion. It’s a strange combination of the church sequence from Kingsmen
and some of the battle sequences of 300. It’s not as executed as well as
one would want, thanks to some shaky use of CGI and some odd pacing choices.
Still, there are a few key times in the film where it works to add some
tension, including a standoff moment in an inn between hidden heroes and a
villainous hunting party.
Quite frankly, for a film that was made for streaming, The
Emperor’s Sword is still an entertaining and shockingly fun old-school
wuxia flick. It attempts to add in just enough style and substance to its
throwback chase-focused plot to carry itself. It’s not the most balanced film
and its limited budget and mixed range of performances will certainly make a
few martial arts fans check out, but considering the context of the film - The
Emperor’s Sword makes some impressive cuts.
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