About Warlords (2007)
Lavish historical action film telling the story of a trio of warriors in the era of the Qing Dynasty – General Ma Xinyi (Jet Li), Cao Er-Hu (Andy Lau) and Zhang Wen-Xiang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) – who make a pact of brotherhood to one another vowing that anyone who harms one of the brothers will be killed. When the country is plunged into chaos and political upheaval following the Taiping Rebellion, the three blood brothers must struggle to maintain their loyalty as war rages around them.
Starring: Jet Li, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Xu Jinglei
Directed by: Peter Ho-Sun Chan
Runtime: 110 minutes
Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Amazon USAmazon UKIMDB
Review: Warlords
China’s history is long, turbulent and fascinating with one book being far too little to do full justice to everything that has shaped it into the powerful nation it is today. Peter Chan and Wai Man Yip’s Warlords takes us into nineteenth century China when the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) was at its height Southern China and led to around 20 million deaths in a truly brutal conflict. Warlords takes us to the latter years of that rebellion and focuses on a special bond between three men.
The film opens with Qing general, Qingyun (Jet Li), defeated in battle by Taiping rebels, largely due to General Ho and promised reinforcements not coming to the battlefield. In the aftermath Qingyun wanders into the path of a young woman, Liansheng (Xu Jinglei), who provides him with food and shelter and mutual affection soon develops between the two though she soon disappears. Qingyun next meets a group of bandits led by brothers, Erhu (Andy Lau) and Wuyang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), and they take the fallen soldier back to their village. Qingyun discovers Erhu’s wife is Liansheng and their previous encounter leads to an affair. Qingyun later joins the brothers in their raids, teaching them the art of defeating larger armies, before persuading the bandits to shed their criminal activities and join the Qing army. The brothers agree after Qingyun performs a blood oath with them, binding the three men as brothers. With their unity established and the Qing army bolstered with numbers, Qingyun sets out to lead his forces to victory over the Taiping rebels.
Warlords doesn’t take long in getting things moving. After Qingyun walks away from the opening battlefield and encounters Liansheng, he is soon joining a group of bandits that specialise in stealing food and supplies from rebel convoys. Qingyun joins one raid against a superior army but defeats the leader of the army and demoralises his men, a tactic Erhu and Wuyang observe closely and understand for future engagements. After the bandits’ village is raided and supplies are retaken, Qingyun convinces the two brothers to gather men and join the Qing army thus earning money and food for their families. The three men swear a blood oath to remain loyal to each other under pain of death, an oath Qingyun is secretly breaking with his continued affair with Liansheng. Soon enough we bear witness to some spectacular battles against the Taiping rebels as Qingyun begins to lead his men to many victories. His tactics are often risky but the rewards for the men even in death are hard to resist and they follow his every word. In one battle Qingyun calls on a group of men to volunteer to run at the enemy who will be armed and firing guns at them. Each man is reluctant but Wuyang steps forward to lead a brave force in an almost suicidal charge but one which leads to success when Wuyang manages to break through enemy lines and kills the army leader.
Having gained great momentum the film turns to two key fortresses that stand between Qingyun and ultimate victory – Suzhou and Nanjing. Faced with a depleted army Qingyun turns once again to the Qing lords for reinforcements but they are now stubborn despite supporting him in previous battles. Qingyun’s victories and increasing power leave the lords in fear of his ultimate ambitions and their reservations about assisting him further lead him to beseech his rival General Ho for aid in claiming Suzhou where both defenders and besiegers are starving and near broken. The efforts of Erhu lead to the city being taken without any further bloodshed but this remarkable feat backfires and drives an unrelenting wedge between the three blood brothers. Erhu claims the city from the rebel leader with the promise that the resident army will not be harmed. After slaying the rebel leader, Erhu is true to his word and vows that the army in Suzhou will not be harmed. When Qingyun returns to assume control he does not share the same sentiment. Concerned about feeding so many men what with the siege of Nanjing still to come, Qingyun has Erhu restrained while his men murder all the rebels in Suzhou. This spells the beginning of the end for the three blood brothers though they continue to fight together and do claim Nanjing, thus ending the long Taipan rebellion. Qingyun is now in an unassailable position, his fame and power striking fear into many, but there are still twists and turns to come with Erhu, Wuyang and Liansheng before the film is over.
While Warlords doesn’t have the same wow factor as say Hero, House of Flying Daggers or Mongol it still delivers some excellent set pieces and the battles and sieges are fantastic. The three leads are all very good, Li in particular is in complete contrast to his brilliant performance in Hero. The film captures the hostility and unrelenting violence of the Taiping Rebellion well and we’re in no doubt of what a turbulent time this was for China. The bond at the heart of the film is inevitably tragic with Qingyun already betraying Erhu and the affair with Liansheng inevitably comes out in the end, the consequences are very surprising. As often happens in history, heroes and great leaders are renowned and needed when battles are to be won but Warlords demonstrates brilliantly how quickly things can change when everyone had laid down their arms.
Warlords is an exciting, action-packed film with some terrific set-pieces. It doesn’t have the same visual appeal as other films I have seen from China though it does boast a good cast an story full of political intrigue and heroic deeds.
Verdict: 4/5
(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)
Film Review: Warlords | Thank you for reading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave
