Blades of the Guardians

"A grand martial arts feast is back!"

2026 2h 6m ZH

🙌

8.2

BANGER

★8.2TMDB · 250

ActionAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Dao Ma, the "second most wanted fugitive," is entrusted by his benefactor, the chief of Mo family clan, to take on a mysterious escort mission-escorting the "most wanted fugitive" to Chang'an.

“A grand martial arts feast is back!”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Wu Jing
Dao Ma
Nicholas Tse Ting-Fung
Di Ting
Chen Lijun
Ayuya
Yu Shi
Shu
Sun Yizhou
Zhishilang
Li Yunxiao
Ms. Yanzi
Ju Qianlang
Xiao Qi
Ci Sha
Heyi Xuan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Yuen Woo-ping
Writers: Su Chaobin, Larry Yang, Yu Baimei
Languages: Mandarin
Countries: China

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

MONEY

Did you know

$123M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Yuen Woo-ping, shot by Tony Cheung Tung-Leung. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Steffen Thum. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Wu Jing and Nicholas Tse Ting-Fung and Chen Lijun carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A grand martial arts feast is back!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt32649961 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Yuen Woo-ping directs. Tony Cheung Tung-Leung behind the camera. Steffen Thum scores. Profitable at the box office. Produced in China. Dialogue in Mandarin.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$123M budget — tentpole studio territory.
2Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.
3Directed by Yuen Woo-ping, shot by Tony Cheung Tung-Leung. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Steffen Thum. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Wu Jing and Nicholas Tse Ting-Fung and Chen Lijun carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "A grand martial arts feast is back!".
7IMDB entry: tt32649961 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 10 themes, including "martial arts", "bounty hunter", "nostalgic", "wuxia".

The technical file

Cinematography: Tony Cheung Tung-Leung
Original score: Steffen Thum
Costume design: Liang Tingting
VFX supervisor: Zhang Fan
Runtime: 126 min · 2h 6m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $123,000,000
Box office: $203,356,793
Return: 165% of budget
Original language: ZH
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Blades of the Guardians (2026)

Also by

Yuen Woo-ping

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-04-24
★ 6/10
"Dao Ma" (Jing Wu) is quite merrily collecting bounties with his young friend "Xiao Qi" (Charles Ju) until he is summoned by a local governor with a proposition and subsequently, having killed the man, is forced to seek refuge amongst his friends in a remote mountain village. It is there that they ask him to return the favour by escorting "Zhi Shi Lang" (the unseen Sun Yizhou) - dressed in white robes and with a painted face mask akin to an harlequin, on a perilous journey across the Taklamakan. Unaware of the true significance of his companion, they set off only to find that they are now wanted by just about every other bounty hunter on the face of the Earth as well as by the Imperial authorities of "Gen. Pei" (Yi Zhang). Luckily, the duo have the help of the feisty and skilful archer "Anuya" (Chen Lijun) as they combat all comers. Then when they encounter the engimatic swordsman "Jade Faced Ghost" (Nicholas Tse) whose side we are never quite sure he is on, we find the odds evened up a bit and the story of the fleeing freedom fighter begins to bed in. There is no shortage of action here, indeed the thing races along energetically for two hours but somehow the characterisations just felt a bit flat. Quite possibly because there were simply too many of them to keep up with and so many, including that of "Dao Ma", are left a bit undercooked. The story of the child (Ju) also becomes important but the history of that character and his importance to the plot is also just a little under-developed and by the end we are left to watch something that is too busy. It looks great with acrobatics galore, but I felt the storytelling a bit lacklustre with too much emphasis of the stylishly choreographed combat scenes and not enough on any of the personalities. It's a solid adventure film, not a great one.
MovieGuys2026-07-08
★ 6/10
"Blades of the Guardians" follows in the footsteps of what could be characterised, in terms of genre, as "Chinese Westerns". It's a similar formula to the spaghetti Western. A rough-hewn, lone wolf character, with a questionable past, who, overcoming their personal shortcomings and trauma, ends up doing the right thing by others in need. This film's single biggest claim to fame is action. It's relentless, with wave after wave of frenetic, polished martial arts action. Given this film is set in the classic period of China's long history, this is combined with swordplay and archery to good effect. By all means watch this film just for these elements; it's an amazing watch. Where this film falls down somewhat is in the storytelling department. The characters' motivations are married up to an impoverished back story that does leave the film feeling a little contextually empty. The space is occupied largely by exposition. In summary, compelling martial arts action is front and centre in Blades of the Guardians. It's just a shame a little more effort had not been spent developing a rich backstory to complement it. As it stands, a 6/10 from me.
Zeus2026-07-13
★ 9/10
9/10 stars review ratings from me; it is a well deserve review. It's been a long time since the movie 14Blades, Red Cliff etc. And 2026 is just the right year to have a great movie like this to appear. No nonsense fight scenes Great cinematography and it just feels right on every angle that you look at it. There is a few twist .. on the plot but not to heavy that makes you confuse. All in all, its a splendid watch.