By Gene Ching
The Year of the Fire Horse bursts out of the stables with one of the best martial arts films in years. Blades of the Guardians is a triumph from three of the greatest masters of cinematic Kung Fu: Jet Li, Yuen Woo-ping, and Wu Jing. Wuxia is back, the uniquely Chinese martial arts genre, packed with all its bloody vengeance, honor, and betrayal. Welcome back to the world of scarred warriors, reluctant heroes, formidable women, and crazy sword fights. This is wuxia cinema at its finest… and wildest. If you like martial arts movies, treat yourself to Blades of the Guardians in the theaters now. Make your lucky red Chinese New Year envelope for a ticket to Blades of the Guardians. This level of quality action deserves to be seen on the big screen.
On Tuesday, February 17th, the night of the Spring Festival that kicks off the Chinese New Year festivities, Blades of the Guardians premiered in 184 theaters across the USA. Well Go USA has been championing the cause by bringing Asian film to theaters in major US metropolises for years now. And for the first week, the Blades of the Guardians box office has been strong for a Chinese film in the US. Perhaps it’s due in part to the Chinamaxxing trend (if not, it should be). If it makes enough to make the cut, the distribution might expand, but that’s very rare for a Chinese film. However, anyone watching Kung Fu cinema has been eagerly anticipating this. Just to see Jet Li and Wu Jing choreographed in sword fights by Yuen Woo-ping is enough for any true fan to rush out to theaters to catch this there while they can.
The Master Yuen Woo-ping
IMDb credits Yuen Woo-ping with 82 stunt roles, 79 acting roles plus 31 times in the director’s chair. But that hardly captures what a titan he is in the action genre. Our longtime readers know. He’s been the driving force behind many of the greatest wuxia films ever. In 1978, Yuen directed Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master, the breakout films for Jackie Chan and his signature style of Kung Fu comedy. Yuen was also behind such monumental movies as Michelle Yeoh’s Wing Chun (1994), Jet Li’s Fist of Legend (1994), Michelle and Jet’s Tai Chi Master (1993) Donnie Yen’s Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019), Sammo Hung’s Magnificent Butcher (1979) and Yuen Biao’s Dreadnaught (1981). And for Hollywood, he choreographed the Matrix trilogy (1999, 2003), both Kill Bill films (2003, 2004), Jet and Jackie Chan’s The Forbidden Kingdom (2008), and so many more. He even oversaw the action for the gonzo Tollywood film Enthiran (2010).
Yuen bears the name of his master Yu Jim-yuen (1905-1997). Yu headed the China Drama Academy, a Peking Opera school, and was the teacher of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and many other major players in the Kung Fu genre. Blades of the Guardians is deep in the reel-house where Yuen thrives. No one can choreograph cold arms like Yuen Woo-ping. Blades of the Guardians showcases so many ancient weapons - swords, spears, melon hammers, hard whips, bows, arrows, axes, axes chain-linked to flying claws, even retractable wolverine claws – Yuen brings his signature furious panache to the fight scenes like never before. And who is better for him to direct than the top two wushu champion actors in the business? Enter Jet Li and Wu Jing
Jet Li is Back
As our longtime readers know, Jet was the first and foremost champion of modern wushu, the flamboyantly acrobatic style of Chinese martial arts designed like an Olympic sport. His mastery of wushu weapons is some of the best ever. It is truly a joy to see Jet Li wielding a sword on the big screen again.
Over the last decade, Jet backed away from doing martial arts movies. In 2013, he revealed that he had been battling hyperthyroidism for years, a condition he has since overcome. And in 2019, he injured his leg in a near death experience he had while on vacation. He was protecting his daughter from being swept away from the devasting tsunami that struck Maldives that year. Those experiences deepened his devotion to Tibetan Buddhism.
And recently, Jet is back. Now he has a new web series titled So Be It where he shares stories of life and experiences in personal conversations with his daughter, Jada. And it’s in English. At this writing, they are 3 episodes deep with more weekly installments coming.
What’s more, Jet has a new book coming out – Beyond Life and Death: The Way of True Freedom. This is also in English and set to drop on May 5th.
Blades of the Guardians marks Jet’s return to wushu-driven action after over a decade away. His role in Blades of the Guardians is short but significant. He plays the villainous Chang Guiren in the beginning of the film. Perhaps Jet’s got a stunt double, or maybe even an AI double, but at 62, Jet still moves like Jet. He’s still got that razor-fine precision and keen timing that could only be gleaned from a lifetime of practice. And being the villain sets up what we really want to see – Jet Li versus Wu Jing…in a sword fight no less.
But make no mistake. This is not a Jet Li film. Jet’s role is more of a cameo. This is a Wu Jing film.
Wolf Warrior Wu Jing
Like Jet Li, Wu Jing was trained in modern wushu at the Beijing Wushu Academy from childhood. Wu started at age 6. He won many national titles but not as stellar as Jet. Nobody has matched Jet’s record, but the rules of modern wushu have changed so that’s nearly impossible now. In 1996, Wu was discovered by Yuen Woo-ping and cast in the lead role for another wuxia film Tai Chi II a.k.a. Tai Chi Boxer. He was initially marketed as Jacky Wu. As a martial arts star, adopting the western name Jacky is second only to trying to adopt the name Bruce. Perhaps this is why the west is still getting to know him.
Wu has starred in some of China’s biggest action blockbusters to date: the two military Wolf Warrior films (2015, 2017), the soon-to-be science-fiction trilogy Wandering Earth (2019, 2023, and hopefully 2027), the brutal two-part historical epic The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021) where Americans are the villains, as well as the Warner Bros international film Meg 2: The Trench (2023) which paired him with Jason Statham in a mega-shark movie that sought audiences on both sides of the Pacific. At this writing, three of Wu’s films are in the top ten all-time highest grossers in China: #2 The Battle at Lake Changjin, #3 Wolf Warrior 2, and #6 Wandering Earth. The Battle at Lake Changjin II comes in at #11 for good measure. With all these, Wu has become one of the most bankable superstars in China. Like Jet, it’s been a decade since he’s picked up a sword again. While he has clearly transcended the confines of being typecast as a martial arts star, it’s good to see him back in a wuxiapian (martial hero films 武俠片).
From Manhua to Donghua to Wuxiapian
Blades of the Guardians is based on a popular 2015 12-volume manhua (Chinese comic 漫畫) by Xu Xianzhe. In 2020, the story was adapted into a 15-episode donghua (Chinese anime 動畫) by Tencent video. The donghua covers the same story as the new movie, although the movie is much more condensed. Some elements and story arcs are excised from the film, such as the rakshasa zombies and a more pronounced romance, but the essence is the same. Like any good wuxia tale, there are several intertangled story arcs twisting up acts of filial piety, chivalric duty, honor and revenge justice into a complex 2 hour 10 minute film. A second season of the donghua was announced just recently.
In Chinese, it’s called Biao Ren (escort people 镖人). This term refers to armed escorts that guarded people or goods (sometimes treasures) as they made their treacherous journeys across ancient feudal China. It was a job for fighters, warriors, and masters of the martial arts. Set in the late Sui (581-618 CE), Blades of the Guardians is set the stark panoramic desert landscapes of the northwest frontier in Xinjiang province. These sweeping shots were filmed for IMAX and are simply spectacular.
Wu Jing plays the lead, Dao Ma, a wanted bounty hunter, who must escort Zhi Shilang (Sun Yizhou), a wanted revolutionary, across the desert to Chang’an. Dao Ma carries several weapons, wrapped in a tattered cloth like a knife roll. He’s accompanied by Ayuya, played by the classical opera actress Chen Lijun. Chen was brought in late as a replacement for another actress, Nashi, who was cancelled after being busted for fraud. Ayuya steals every scene she’s in with her ferocity.
Opposing them is Ayuya’s psychotic jilted fiancée, Diting, played by veteran actor/singer Nicholas Tse and One-Eye, played by former Shaolin monk and May+June 2011 cover master Xing Yu. The story sets up a lot of fight scenes as the escorts navigate the badlands and the villains give chase.
The only complaint was the underuse of a true queen of Kung Fu films, Kara Hui Ying-Hung. One of the original Shaw Brothers Studios Kung Fu divas, Hui has a small role as Yuchi. Like Yuen Wah’s appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), the moment these martial arts movie veterans enter the scene, true fans got ready for some beloved old school fights, but it was not to be for either. Nevertheless, it’s good to see Hui on the big screen again. Many fans raised on Shaw Brothers films still hold Hui in their deep in their hearts, IYKYK.
Blades of the Guardians ends with wide opening for a sequel. And we’ll be there for that.
Easter Egg Spoiler Alert
In my Spring 2026 magazine column, Fast Forward to the Fight Scenes, I wrote “The ending leaves ample opening for a sequel, and the end credit cameos will charm the heart of any true wushu fan” because I didn’t want to spoil it. But in a week, the internet spoiled it (the internet spoils everything). A credit scene has a cameo with Yuen Woo-ping, Zhang Xinyan, the director of total game changer movie Shaolin Temple (1982) which contained Jet Li’s breakout role, and Jet Li’s coach Wu Bin, the first head coach of Beijing Wushu Team, the ‘Father of Modern Wushu, and our March+April 2007 cover master. They comment about passing it all down to the next generation in an absolutely endearing scene to any fan of martial arts films.
Author:
Gene Ching is the Publisher of KungFuMagazine.com and the author of Shaolin Trips.
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