Blades Of The Guardians ★★★★★

Released: 17 Apr 2026

Director: Yuen Woo-Ping

Starring: Wu Jing, Sun Yizhou

Even if Yuen Woo-ping’s Blades of the Guardians was somehow the only martial arts film to release this year, theatrical action cinema would still have its definitive highlight. Helmed by the choreographer-turned-director behind the iconic Drunken Master and Tai-Chi Master, this adaptation of a massively popular manhua strikes the perfect synergy between vintage wuxia sensibilities and modern digital stylization — the kind of hyperviolent yet classy spectacle that has become an increasingly rare gamble in the current market.

Set in a fictionalized rendition of China during the Sui dynasty period, the film follows Dao Ma (Wu Jing), a bounty hunter with a hefty sum on his head, tasked with escorting the fabled revolutionary leader Zhishilang (Sun Yizhou). As they embark on their journey, the group ends up reconnecting with old friends and sworn nemeses, hacking and slashing through hordes of villainous mercenaries on their way to the city of Chang’an.

Not unlike Wuershan’s criminally underseen Creation of the Gods II last year, this is Chinese blockbuster filmmaking at its most idiosyncratic: indebted to the past but carving its distinctly modern path, Blades of the Guardians operates on the wavelength of epic historical fiction that doesn’t shy away from contemporary mythmaking. Akin to Yuen’s classic Hong Kong output, the film sees ordinary heroes embracing their extraordinary powers and heightened personas, situating the film closer to the screen translations of graphic novels than traditional wuxia imagemaking. The titular guardians are all recognizable archetypes echoing folklore tales and classic “good vs. evil” stories, bridging the gap between the overtly mythological conventions of LNY hits like Ne Zha 2 and the more grounded approach seen in Tsui Hark’s recent reimagining of Legends of the Condor Heroes.

Brought to screen through a mix of terrific wirework, visceral fight choreography, and textured computer-enhanced visuals, there’s an exhilarating (almost otherworldly) quality to the film that’s such a welcome change of pace compared to the usual big-budget fare from the Mainland. At its core, the film is an adult swashbuckling blockbuster: a true martial arts epic where swordplay is just as intimate as a dance performance, graphic violence less a spectacle and more a tragic byproduct of emotional turmoil. There’s an elegance to the action here, controlled artistic chaos achieved with full earnestness and unmistakable reverence for the genre.

It’s become somewhat fashionable to describe esoteric experimentations of prolific auteurs as “late style” in recent years, and as a big proponent of that term, Yuen’s latest is a rather unusual case of late style filmmaking in mainstream Chinese cinema. Seamlessly blending digital backdrops with on-location photography reminiscent of PWSA’s Monster Hunter, Yuen adopts a rather experimental and introspective approach for his latest work. Despite only adapting the first half of the original manhua, the screen translation feels complete in its intentions: Blades of the Guardians is a cinematic swan song, a symbolic passing of the torch to the next generation of action filmmakers who’d inevitably attempt to reinvoke history in a different light.

If Blades of the Guardians is an indicator of what’s to come, we might be on the precipice of a martial arts resurgence. Wishful thinking? Perhaps, but the signs are all there: historical fiction is en vogue and gritty action cinema is slowly reclaiming its rightful spot at regular multiplexes. While the best hand-to-hand combat you’ll ever see might still be hidden in the streaming depths of IQIYI’s seemingly bottomless library, Yuen Woo-ping’s triumphant return is a reminder that Lunar New Year blockbusters can deliver quality entertainment without a hint of artistic compromise.