Dragon Blade is a 2015 China-Hong Kong historical action film written and directed by Daniel Lee and starring Jackie Chan. In the film, Chan plays Huo An, commander of the Western Area Protection Forces during the Han Dynasty. Dragon Blade was released on IMAX 3D on February 19, 2015, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday period. The film was released in the United States on September 4, 2015 by Lionsgate Premiere.
Video Dragon Blade (film)
Plot
In northwestern China, 48 BC (50 BC on display in English version), a security company under Han Chinese government currently called The Silk Road Protection Squad is committed to stopping the fighting and promoting the idea of ​​peace. Huo An (Jackie Chan), the captain, managed to avoid fighting between Indians and Han Chinese. The group returns to their unnamed city of origin, where the gentle Uyghur wife of Huo An, Xiuqing (Mika Wang) serves as a school teacher for orphans. However, the government uncovered evidence that someone in the group was corrupt, causing the whole group to be sentenced to construction work at Wild Goose Gate, a ruined fortress. Once they arrived, the group saluted at the shrine of a falling Chinese general. They were originally slaves of the descendants of Han, but the general then rescued them.
Not long after that, the Wild Goose Gate was threatened by troops from the Roman Empire who needed water and supplies, among them a blind boy named Publius (Jozef Waite). After a dubious duel between Huo An and Lucius (Cusack), the Roman general, the latter agreed not to attack the city in exchange for being allowed to enter. The Legion uses its superior engineering skills to speed up construction work, an act that enhances the morale and happiness of the population, divided among several different ethnic groups, such as China, Uyghur, and Turkey. Huo An avenged the favor by sending people to help envoy Lucius in reaching the Parthia Empire. A celebration was then held and Huo An was made an honorary officer.
Lucius reveals that he and Publius escaped from the Publius brothers, Tiberius (Brody), a corrupt army who murdered their father, a Roman consul, and blinded Publius so that Tiberius could become a consul. When Tiberius approached with 100,000 soldiers, Huo An insisted on helping Lucius, pointing out that Tiberius was a threat to the Silk Road as a whole. Shortly after Huo An went in search of reinforcements, members of the corrupt group had previously sent Chinese troops to kill Xiuqing and attack the Wild Swan Gates. The Legion was imprisoned in the non-Chinese trading city of Kranca, where Tiberius chose to camp. Tiberius proceeds to kill Publius.
Huo An and some loyal Chinese soldiers travel to Kroran, pretending to surrender, but once they are inside, they destroy the cage of the Roman legion. Huo An breaks into Lucius's special cell, but is unable to free him. The fire broke out, where Lucius called to Huo An to 'take me home', and Huo An fired an arrow to kill Lucius before the fire made him. When the Huo An and Lucius armies were under siege, troops from several other countries came and fought against Tiberius, including the Indians, Han, Uyghurs, and Turkics, all of whom were determined to protect the safety of the Silk Road. However, even their combined forces can not make a profit. Finally, the messengers of the previous return with a large number of Parthians, who had signed a special agreement with the father of Publius and who intend to reciprocate his memory. The warrior Tiberius lost the will to fight. Huo An challenges Tiberius to a duel and kills him.
After hearing about the courage of the legions of Lucius, the Chinese emperor gave them the right to establish their own city, which they chose to name Regum. They accept Huo An as their commander, and Huo An, in turn, honors the Chinese general who died by relocating the shrine to the city. As the century progressed, the city faded from collective memory. However, in modern times, a team of Asian American archaeologists found the site and discovered a double Chinese and Latin inscription.
Maps Dragon Blade (film)
Cast
Production
Casting
For the role of the Roman general, Lucius, Australian actor Mel Gibson was originally rumored to be taking a role. During the press conference, both Chan and Lee confirmed the participation of Gibson and Chan just said,
In the end, that role goes to John Cusack.
Filming
The main photography for Dragon Blade starts on April 15, 2014 in Hengdian, China with some battle scenes. The cast and crew had difficulty making films because of the heat, their heavy costumes and long shooting hours. Two days later, a press conference for Dragon Blade was held at the Beijing International Film Festival where Jackie Chan and director Daniel Lee attended and announced the film to be released on IMAX 3D on February 19, 2015, the first day of the New Year Imlek. In addition to Hengdian, production takes place in Dunhuang and the Gobi Desert.
The film was shot with a budget of US $ 65 million. The film is financed by Sparkle Roll Media Corporation, Huayi Brothers Media Corporation, Shanghai Film Group, Home Media & amp; The Entertainment Fund, Tencent Video, and Beijing Cultural Assets, the Chinese Film and Television Fund. The signing ceremony for the launch of China's Cultural Film Assets and the Television Fund also took place there as Dragon Blade is the first film to receive investment from the fund. International distribution of films outside China is handled by Golden Network Asia.
Release
box office
Dragon Blade is a commercial success in its home country, China. It opened Thursday, February 19 in China and grossed US $ 18.7 million on the opening day. Through Sunday, February 22, it has 3 days of opening weekend total of US $ 33 million, surpassing China's box office (US $ 54.8 million from Thursday-Sunday) of 132,874 screenings and 8.14 million receipts. Through its opening week, the company earned US $ 72 million. The film fell to number three in the next weekend, earning US $ 45.9 million (down 19%). As of March 15, 2015, Dragon Blade has generated US $ 120 million in China alone.
Critical reception
Dragon Blade has received mixed acclaim, with many praises directed to large-scale battle, production design, and blending styles from Hollywood and East Asian cinemas. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 34% approval rating and an average rating score of 4.3/10. The site consensus reads, " Dragon Blade is beautifully staged and choreographed, but at between battles, his talented players are overwhelmed by boring stories and wavy edits. "
Variety ' s Maggie Lee praised this film for its overall technical details and concluded it as "great entertainment with solid techniques and great storytelling intelligence". Clarence Tsui from The Hollywood Reporter understands Dragon Blade for the quality of filmmaking and scenarios for mainland China's main production.
IGN gave it a score of 6 out of 10, saying "The story is garbage, but Dragon Blade has some cool fight scenes thanks to Jackie Chan's actions." In a negative review, Gabriel Chong of MovieXclusive.com highlights Dragon Blade as "absolutely terrible in every way", criticizing the starring performers and inconsistent tone changes. He wrote: "Indeed, the Blade Dragon is a spectacular hot and misfire chaos, not only by the star but also by the director, and if anything, further confirms that the once-promising career of Hollywood stars John Cusack and Adrien Brody will follow Nicolas Cage's path ".
Indian media gave very negative reviews on the film. Claiming the film to become a "propagandist film of China", The Hindu's Venky Vembu criticized the lack of subtle messages from the film and disapproved of characterizations, writes: "I watched this movie in 3D, but remembered both the dimensions of the cardboard character dimension , I do not think the third D will greatly improve my viewing experience. "IANS also branded the film as" Chinese torture ", but praised the film for its action choreography and Jackie Chan's appearance as China's General Huo An:" With numerous footage in action scenes and emotionally, [Huo An] is one of the best characters that Chan has depicted in recent years. "
See also
- Daqin (the ancient Chinese name for the Roman Empire)
- Jackie Chan's filmography
- Sino-Roman Relationship
- The Malay Chronicles: Bloodlines
- the Great Wall , a film about a group of mercenaries from Europe ending in China during the Northern Song Dynasty
References
External links
- Dragon Blade on IMDb
- Dragon Knife at Rotten Tomatoes
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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