https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOr8Dj1PxJg
The first word that comes to mind when thinking about this movie is “dirty”. And not the dirty as in the profane kind or the lewd kind. Just dirty. As in the back alley grime of a city. As in a long day of hiking and coming home with dirt glued to your face with sweat. As in body odor. Dirty, plain and simple. It’s so grimy that you can almost smell the stench of the characters. Strangely enough, this actually gives the film a pleasingly earthy feel, a realism that is usually missing in fantasy wuxia stories like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
The Warlords story can be summed up plot-wise by a single word as well–“sacrifice”. Star studded with Jet Li, Andy Lau, and Takeshi Kaneshiro, this is a tale of three sworn blood brothers who try to rise up and make a change in the lives of their people, of the commoners, but the price they pay is a steep one. With Jet Li at the helm, there’s some pretty decent fight scenes, and the epic battle action overall is pretty crazy good, especially thanks to the fact that all of the awesomeness is well grounded with the dirt and mud and muck found everywhere in the textures of this movie. Maybe it’s to drive home the concept that it’s hard to keep your hands clean when it comes to war. Recommended for people who love dramatic Chinese historical war stories, epic battles, and warrior angst.
