Donnie Yen has
an amazing martial arts background, and when combined with his cinematic
abilities this can make him an incredible asset to a feature. This is why it
was so disappointing to find his talents weren’t put to full use in 14 Blades,
a film which prefers inconsistent special effects over the skills possessed by
the cast. Or perhaps Yen is simply getting older, transitioning to a different
type of roles. Whatever the reason, 14
Blades feels like a film that should have been better than the average
viewing experience it provides.
In a plot that
feels vaguely familiar to at least a dozen other martial arts movies, a royal
guard general named Qinglong (Yen) is the last remaining still loyal to his
Emperor after the Imperial Court is taken over by a traitor named Jia (Law
Kar-Ying). Injured and hunted by the royal guards he once belonged to, Qinglong
must rely on the help of a brigade of bandits that he comes across, as well as
an escort agency with his inevitable love interest (played by Vicky Zhao). The
group of unlikely allies are the only chance at setting things right,
destroying the tyrant traitor, Jia.
While there is a
lot of action and violence, especially involving the box of blades that
Qinglong carries around. It is an incredibly inconvenient Swiss Army Knife
contraption for deadly blades, including everything from projecting arrows to
more traditional swords for hand-to-hand combat. These blades are never really
distinguished from each other, however, with the exception of the gold-plated
blade meant for suicide. The result is a series of different weapons being used
in battle, without ever really understanding what makes one different from the
next. Many simply look like swords. While the concept is creative, it wasn’t
carried through with enough detail to warrant being the title.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 5.5/10
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