Review of Dragon Blade (2015) by Dan H — 19 Aug 2015

As a fan of historical epics, this movie got me really hyped as it is based on a somewhat popular theory that the area of Liqian, China, was a settlement given to Crassus' Roman legionnaires who survived the Battle of Carrhae. Plus it's got Jacky Chan and Adrien Brody, and a big budget - what could possibly go wrong?

I don't mind that the movie butchered what little "history" it claims to be based on. The Romans conquering Parthia, the First Triumvirate outlasting General Huo Qu-bing of the Han Dynasty, Rome being an empire instead of a Republic - I can tolerate those historical inaccuracies. It's only a movie, after all. What troubled me was the casting. Aside from Chan and Brody, who gave brilliant performances (Brody in particular was a convincingly menacing but poetically tragic villain), everybody else was either miscast or downright terrible. John Cusack is no Maximus Decimus Meridius - there, I've said it. I was not entertained. Putting romantic comedy stars in suits of armour does not make them leaders of armies. Didn't "The Eagle" starring Channing Tatum teach you anything?

But perhaps the one actor who made me cringe the most was the kid who played Publius. Historically, Publius and his father Crassus were both massacred by the Parthians; throughout the movie, I prayed for at least some historical accuracy, and praised the gods when he was *SPOILER ALERT* finally murdered on screen. The boy seemed uninterested, his voice was annoying, his emotions felt forced, and his story did little to further the main plot. He made Anakin Skywalker from The Phantom Menace seem like a fascinating character, and that is never a good sign. One could mainly attribute this to bad directing or sciptwriting, but the actor himself is definitely to blame, and the fact that he's a child does not excuse him from giving such a sub-par performance, though I wish him better luck in the future.

Speaking of bad directing and scriptwriting, this movie is one of the most over-the-top epic historical epics I have ever set eyes upon. No, that was not a compliment. It had way too many action scenes, and the less over-the-top scenes in-between the battles did not help much either. The plot is hard to follow in that it introduces sub-plots, new characters and new scenarios too hastily. It felt like the director tried to cram too many characters and stories into too short of a time-frame, thus making it too complicated - and this is coming from a guy who enjoyed the Godfather.

That is not to say this movie has no redeeming qualities. Chan and Brody ruled, as was previously mentioned. The soundtrack is pretty well done, in particular the Roman anthem. I am pretty sure national anthems did not exist until the 18th century, but if the Romans did have a national anthem, by Jupiter, it would have sounded exactly like the one in this movie. If only it was sung by someone other than "Publius"...

Looking beyond the acting and cast, this movie comes across as more propaganda than cinematic art. I say this because of the unrealistic and cringe-worthy scenes where people of different ethnicity and culture celebrated their unity and friendship. This may be necessary from a political point of view, given the instability and conflicts in the Northwestern parts of China, where Muslim extremists and ethnic minorities see Han Chinese as oppressors and often choose to express their discontent in the form of terrorism.

So I guess what this really boils down to is whether this movie is necessary or not, instead of whether it is rotten or fresh. And my answer to that is, yes. This movie could not have come at a better time. Rumours of ISIS attempting to take over Islamic terrorism in China echo across the internet, while the Chinese government cracks down on Islamic activities. One of the themes of the movie is that it is better to live in peace than to wage war. Will this message stick with the various groups who live under the fear of oppression and terrorism? Only time will tell. For now, I look forward to replaying the scene where "Publius" dies.