Huo An offers his help, rounding up support from the surrounding tribes and setting up a climactic stand-off between Tiberius’ mighty army and a united force of Silk Road residents. Lucius reveals to Huo An that he is on the run after rescuing the young blinded heir Publius (Jozef Waite) from his brother, the evil Consul Tiberius (Adrien Brody), who is now tracking them with his vast army. In return, the Roman soldiers help the prisoners rebuild the fort once the storm has past. A sandstorm forces them to stop the battle, and in keeping with the Protection Squad’s code, Huo An offers Lucius (John Cusack) and his men shelter. When the fort is suddenly besieged by a wandering Roman legion, the guards concede to Huo An’s superior tactical know-how and let him lead the defence. The squad’s “make peace not war” mandate is not shared by everyone, however, and after being framed for smuggling, the Protection Squad is sentenced to hard labour at a remote outpost, Wild Goose Gate. The Han Dynasty, 48 BC: Huo An (Jackie Chan) is the leader of the Silk Road Protection Squad, assigned to keep the peace between the 36 different races that populate China’s harsh, desolate Western region. Elsewhere, the unlikely combination of all three leads couldpique some curiosity outside a solid genre and disapora crowd, but Dragon Blade may have to wait for its digital platform debut before finding its largest following. Nevertheless Hong Kong writer-director Daniel Lee ( 14 Blades, White Vengeance) never quite achieves the epic grandeur for which he so clearly strives.ĭragon Blade has already proved a legitimate hit in China, topping the domestic box office during the coveted Lunar New Year holidays ($101m).
The Roman Empire takes on China’s mighty Han Dynasty in Daniel Lee’s latest period action adventure, as Jackie Chan’s Silk Road guard and John Cusack’s renegade centurion form an unlikely partnership against Adrien Brody’s despicable Roman general.įor his realisation of ancient Romans, Lee steers clear of the oiled man-flesh that adorned Zack Snyder’s 300, aiming closer to the grand vistas and bloody battlefields of Ridley Scott’s historical epics.Ĭommitted performances, a hefty budget and assured hands behind the camera ensure that Dragon Blade delivers on its promise of sprawling battle scenes, intriguing culture clashes and budding bromances, where its giddily high concept and unlikely casting may so easily have seen it fail.