关云长 The lost bladesman

With the aging of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, Donnie Yen has become the undisputed choice for action movie blockbuster produced in Hong Kong or mainland China especially after his huge popularity and success gained through the Yip Man sequels. Having watched the two Yip Man sequels, one in 2008 and another in 2010, it is hard to say which one is better but the presence of Summo Hung in Yip Man 2 really makes a great difference as the fighting scene between Yen and Hung in Yip Man 2 is regarded by many as one of the most eye-catching and successful kung-fu fighting scene for action movies produced in Hong Kong.

A great character requires another comparable one to ignite excitements in a movie, just like without the Joker, Batman would not be so interesting to watch. But if a supposedly supporting character becomes too dominant then it may be potentially backfiring and dwarfing the main character. That is exactly what happened to The Lost Bladesman as Cao Cao played by Jiang Wen is so dominant that even the fast moving kung-fu fighting scenes of Donnie Yen slaying 6 generals crossing 5 passes (过五关斩六将) become relatively subdued.

No wonder many of the commentators from mainland China were debating hotly on whether the blockbuster should instead be named Cao Cao rather than Guan Yunchang. On the other hand, the adding of the love storyline involving Guan Yu and his sister-in-laws does not in any way enhancing his character but rather softening the character of Guan Yu which is an epitome of loyalty and righteousness.

When the director placed Donnie Yen in late Eastern Han dynasty of China, playing the character of the Guan Gong which is worshiped by many Chinese over the world, it is just like time transporting Yip Man from the early seventies into the ancient China, and sadly, this highly anticipated blockbuster no doubt filled with interesting fighting scenes but lack of the depth particularly on the character of Guan Yunchang. The story is fictional, I know, but the character is of great importance especially for those who are worshiping Guan Sheng Di Jun (關聖帝君).