DRAGON BLADE – The Review

Review By Gary Salem

In the action-packed historical epic DRAGON BLADE, Jackie Chan delivers fantastic action choreography and one of his best acting performances. Written and directed by Daniel Lee, John Cusack and Adrien Brody also star in the massive production purported to be one of the most expensive Chinese films ever made.

Despite it’s title, DRAGON BLADE has zero dragons and no supernatural elements. Set during the Han Dynasty, the plot follows Huo An (Chan), a peacekeeper and leader of the Silk Road Protection Squad, and Lucius (Cusack), the exiled Roman with his legion of soldiers. They join forces to defend a city from evil Tiberius (Brody) and his army.

Huo An and his men are framed for treason and given an impossible deadline to complete a trading outpost under construction in a pivotal spot on the Silk Road. When Huo An encounters Lucius, they realize they can trade shelter and protection for Roman engineering and construction skills. A great sequence full of interesting details shows the Romans planning and leading the project.

During the fighting, construction, celebrating, dancing and singing, the villain and his army march closer to the outpost where Lucius is protecting Tiberius’ young brother, also in exile.

Along with Jackie Chan’s surprisingly deep acting performance, DRAGON BLADE showcases impressive production and costume design and always has something interesting to look at. The battle scenes are huge and well-executed. It’s somewhat undermined by doing too much in an effort to appeal to several different audiences. It has some jarring shifts in tone from violent drama to comedic slapstick and an odd conflict of accents and acting styles. Cusack at times gives off a “What am I doing here?” vibe while Brody goes in the opposite direction with some intense line readings.

Overall, fans of Jackie Chan, historical epics and great action, expertly filmed, will appreciate the results.

DRAGON BLADE opens in Select Theaters and On-Demand September 4, 2015.

OVERALL RATING: 3.5 OUT OF 5 STARS