Warlords, a HK film starring three of Asia‘s most recognizable stars, Jet Li, Andy Lau, and Takeshi Kaneshiro, and winner of Best Film in the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards, is finally making its way to the big screen here in a limited release across the country beginning on Friday, April 2nd.

The film has all the recurring themes you expect in a drama/action film coming out of Hong Kong: brotherhood, loyalty, betrayal, and of course some romance as well. The historical backdrop to the film is China during the Taiping Rebellion of the 1850′s and 1860’s — so think period piece with plenty of costumes and weapons.

If you’re looking for pure martial arts action in this film, (after all it is starring Jet Li) this will not be your cup of tea. Yes, there are some nice action sequences but on the whole, this movie is more about the exploration of and testing of the bonds of brotherhood when confronted with the greater good, and a more evil dilemma, political expediency. Toss in the added fuel of a love triangle and you have the classic dilemma of choice.

Jet does some kicking-ass but this is the first film that truly asks him to act. Pang Qing-yun is the most flawed character Jet has ever played, he’s nothing like the heroic parts that Jet has played before. As a righteous man, he wants to do right by himself and the country which are honorable qualities but they clash with the fact that he’s a leader and does what he has to do in order to accomplish the task at hand. Jet does a masterful job communicating tension and vulnerability through his eyes and, to my surprise, he’s convinced me that he’s a good actor. Apparently those at the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards thought so too, naming him Best Actor for his portrayal.

Andy Lau does a creditable job with his role, Zhao Er-Hu, as does Takeshi Kaneshiro with, Jiang Wu-Yang. Not too much overacting by Andy, although he gets in a few emoting moments an for whatever reason, Takeshi is always plays the second fiddle, or in this case, the third fiddle.

There are enough large-scale battle scenes with sword hacking, blood spurting, and bodies hurled around to easily consider this an action film. The violence is primal and there’s nothing clean or neat about soldiers killing one another. The movie moves along fast and doesn’t get too bogged down with explaining the background history of the time period. Even for a Chinese history expert, the Taiping Rebellion would take a while to digest.

Peter Chan, the director, does an admirable job, considering this is his first foray into action films. Chan helmed the seminal Hong Kong romantic film, Comrades: Almost a Love Story, and this is a definitive break from his previous movies. For his efforts, he was named Best Director at the 27th Hong Film Awards.

Is it enough to watch, even if Jet’s fighting scenes are few and far between? Absolutely. Watching Jet expand himself as an actor is well worth it. One only hopes that his choice of future roles in Hollywood productions will be as astute as the ones he chooses in Asia.

For all the theater listings go to the Magnolia Pictures, Warlords website.

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