I watch a lot of Wuxia movies and Japanese war/Sengoku/Restoration ones. This includes shorts, fully fledged full motions, and animation.
While many fail to provide a relevant plot line, or have a messy script, "Brotherhood of Blades" manages to satisfy the *unprofessional* eye.
Fighting sequences Unlike during the classic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", here you get fights and jumps which seem reasonable. For those of you who are interested in the Asian martial arts, you will see that they have focused on hits and slashes used in some of them. The mass fights are somewhat "wait for one to fall, attack after that" for the enemy, but still satisfying.
Music This is the only area in which the movie ended-up being like a dud bomb. My personal opinion is that the "epic" musical pieces which accompanied my watching the movie were misplaced. Most of the times they were too epic for the scene they represented. However, when there was real need for an epic piece, it failed to deliver.
Romance As we have three main male characters, we also have three main romantic endeavours. These micro-stories focus on two entirely different women and a career. (Yes, I just called the career something of a romantic companion). Both love stories seemed classic for the age in which the movie is set, and the overall attitude of the female characters was pleasurable to watch.
Overall Plot Lines In reality, the movie pays little to no attention to the very Manchurian vs Han war, although it is key in a specific scene. The whole story is mainly focused on the three assassins, as hinted to by the title. Instead, we focus on a certain piece of the shared story of three imperial assassins. They encounter corruption, theft, treason, conspiracy, death of a close one, and more.
Now, about the Western feel - I do believe this movie is not a typical Wuxia representative, as it does use a lot of exceptionally pretty effects to enforce the colours, some battle scenes and blood splatter. However, it does not by any means seem to me to be too un-Chinese (if there is such a thing).
Disclaimer: This is my first full IMDb review. Bear with me and my non-professional take on things :)
While many fail to provide a relevant plot line, or have a messy script, "Brotherhood of Blades" manages to satisfy the *unprofessional* eye.
Fighting sequences Unlike during the classic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", here you get fights and jumps which seem reasonable. For those of you who are interested in the Asian martial arts, you will see that they have focused on hits and slashes used in some of them. The mass fights are somewhat "wait for one to fall, attack after that" for the enemy, but still satisfying.
Music This is the only area in which the movie ended-up being like a dud bomb. My personal opinion is that the "epic" musical pieces which accompanied my watching the movie were misplaced. Most of the times they were too epic for the scene they represented. However, when there was real need for an epic piece, it failed to deliver.
Romance As we have three main male characters, we also have three main romantic endeavours. These micro-stories focus on two entirely different women and a career. (Yes, I just called the career something of a romantic companion). Both love stories seemed classic for the age in which the movie is set, and the overall attitude of the female characters was pleasurable to watch.
Overall Plot Lines In reality, the movie pays little to no attention to the very Manchurian vs Han war, although it is key in a specific scene. The whole story is mainly focused on the three assassins, as hinted to by the title. Instead, we focus on a certain piece of the shared story of three imperial assassins. They encounter corruption, theft, treason, conspiracy, death of a close one, and more.
Now, about the Western feel - I do believe this movie is not a typical Wuxia representative, as it does use a lot of exceptionally pretty effects to enforce the colours, some battle scenes and blood splatter. However, it does not by any means seem to me to be too un-Chinese (if there is such a thing).
Disclaimer: This is my first full IMDb review. Bear with me and my non-professional take on things :)