During a time of peace, a deadly sword that bestows great power upon its wielder was divided and hidden. After the emperor dies, a deranged rebel seizes power and stages a massacre during his search for the blade, leaving only one survivor. Now, the young daughter of a great general is all that stands between a tyrant and his quest for domination.
“The Emperor’s Sword” is a glossy take on the Qin Dynasty (221-210 BCE). The Qin Dynasty was created by the self-proclaimed “First Emperor.” The film centers on heroes known as “The Seven Gentlemen” (The Virtuous, The Wisdom, The Polite, The Valor, The Brave, The Vigor, and The Wise) band together to guard the titular sword that is promised to bring peace to the land. The sword was divided into two parts, one going to the palace, and under the Commander’s protection to The Seven Gentlemen.
The film features an array of Freudian imagery and dated Guy Ritchie stop and watch slow-motion. The camera lingers for so long over people posing that it resembles the Mannequin Challenge during other scenes. A set-piece in a Bamboo Forest was particularly incensing: the lead Gentleman is cornered and outnumbered by armed opponents, while surrounded by a blanket of fog. With closed eyes, the Gentleman draws several bows that take down all of his attackers. This was a blatant ripoff of the far superior “House of Flying Daggers.” For shame!
When the First Emperor dies, the dynasty’s 10 years of peace are disrupted. Zhao Gao (the villain) usurps power and murders the emperor’s son but unwittingly allows the daughter to flee with the sword. Zhang Gao wants both parts of the sword so he can rule China. One of the seven dwarfs, I mean Hobbits, I mean “Gentlemen,” guards the emperor’s daughter while trying to keep the Ring, I mean sword safe! And I did not even mention the bleedin’ tin whistle and fiddle scoring the background. I felt like I was in County Cork or Middle Earth.
Available on Blu-ray™, DVD, & Digital November 9th
