china, in the mid-nineteenth century, is suffering from the oppression of the corrupt qing dynasty. er-hu (andy lau), a charismatic and honourable leader of men, and wu-zhang (takeshi kaneshiro), a romantic idealist who craves peace, are bandits; fighting to save their village which is caught up in the struggles of the taiping rebellion. when these two men encounter pang (jet li), a former officer of qing's army, his prowess on the battlefield, tactical nous and desire to end the suffering of china, they bond strongly.

after successfully combining in battle, the three become blood brothers and pool their collective skills, in the form of a new regiment that joins the forces of qing, in an attempt to bring the civil war to an end. pang is fiercely ambitious and committed, er-hu's honourable nature and inspirational nature make him a perfect foil, whilst wu-zhang finds himself swept up by the rhetoric and aspirations of pang, even to the degree that he begins to value his vision over his ties to er-hu. the stage is set for these three men to lead a small force into a series of battles which can decide the future of china but, ultimately, will test their bond of brotherhood...

well, this is the third version of this story which has been brought to the big screen; 'blood brothers' and 'blade of fury', being the other incarnations. it is, however, the first of these films which i've watched, so the story was completely new to me, which probably enhanced the viewing experience.

after a glut of chinese epics being produced in recent years, some being much more successful than others, it's good to see another production which is, quite simply, solid. it is a film which relies on the performances of its leads and strength of narrative, as much as it does on its scale and spectacle; that's not to say that it's completely successful on all fronts, but it makes a bloody good effort.

andy lau does a good job, even if he is playing a role that is very much within his range but, in this instance, it's quite good to have someone who fits nicely into a role and brings a degree of gravitas as a result. takeshi kaneshiro, who's cinematic output seems to have dried up a little in the past few years, also does well; injecting a touch of something different, as he sits, quite youthfully, between lau and li. and, it is jet li, who steals the show: having shown a wider range than one would have imagined, when he pulled off a more introspective role in 'fearless', he really shines here. after so many roles which just haven't given him the opportunity to show that he can act, it seems as if he is finally being allowed to act and not just perform for the camera. here, as a darker, driven and flawed character, he really gets to show that he is more than a martial arts talent.

as for the spectacle, well, there are some highly impressive battle sequences: sequences which seemed to be on a loop outside every single dvd shop across hong kong (whilst jay chou and eason chen concerts were being played inside). the action mixes c.g.i., hundreds of extras, grand settings and scale, alongside intimate, bloody and furious hand to hand combat, more successfully than i have seen in any recent movie, with the first major battle being particularly impressive.

as for the narrative, although a little more character development would've been welcome, the way that smaller and bigger pictures; the relationship between the three, other members of the village, other armies and the manipulative nature of the powers who sit above them, is handled well. and, ultimately, manages to portray both the angles well. having watched the film in a couple of sittings, it is definitely something i will be watching again, in the near future...

good stuff...