Partly OK, partly disappointing
Be warned: Spoilers will be mentioned here!Several of the recent Hong Kong kung fu movies have not been the tight little village dramas of the good old days, but expensive and dark medieval adventure movies with legions of black-clad characters, organizations and imperial intrigues involved. Is it an improvement over the cheap old "heroic age" formula? I'd have to say no. Because, since the new kind of story is often less focused on one or two main characters, the whole narrative itself also becomes less focused; less tight. And with the main characters being dressed in dark clothes, everything seems less real, more grim and depressed; more shadowy. That's not what I want. I want heroes in bright clothes fighting in sunlight! So we can bloody well SEE their moves, you understand!
14 Blades had a good bunch of action and I didn't particularly mind the CGI, but much of it was also rather dull. And I really think the Asian tradition of having unhappy endings is getting a bit out of hand. Even in romantic high-adventure, they cheat us out of a happy ending and some much deserved love for the hard-travelling heroes?? I say thee nay! Just once in a while in these kinds of movies I would like to see love and goodness win out. Otherwise this just becomes depressing crap. What's the message supposed to be? That anyone who's been a soldier doesn't deserve a happy life? Puh-leeze!
This movie goes on my list of movies where the best thing about it was looking at the beautiful female lead. The delectable Vicki Zhao is unusually cheerful for most of this movie, which just makes it all the more dissatisfying about the down-beat ending.
5 stars out of 10.
score 5/10
sarastro7 5 January 2011
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2364758/36037
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