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Released By: Well Go USA
Released On: 08/13/2013
Director: Andrew Lau
Cast: Zhang Wen, Xiaoming Huang, Shawn Yue, Yuchun Li, Ching-Tien Juan
Year: 2012
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The Film:
Back in 1976, a really cool guy going by the name of Jimmy Wang Yu wrote and directed a martial arts flick that would have an impact on the generations to come; The Master of the Flying Guillotine. Also starring Jimmy, the film told the story of a one-armed boxer being pursued across the countryside by an elderly master of a weapon that had the nasty capability of beheading its targets. As the film progressed, so did the body count, and heads flew across the screen with reckless abandon, both thrilling and horrifying viewers.
Such was its impact and current cultural standing that a remake of the film would probably be considered a disservice akin to blasphemy. But for one terrified young viewer, who would grow up to be filmmaker Andrew Lau, the weapon known as the Flying Guillotine begged to be adapted into something that he could use to entertain modern audiences. And so comes The Guillotines, Lau's homage to a childhood film favourite.
The Guillotines in this film, aside from deadly metal instruments of doom, are a group of assassins pledged to protect Emperor Yong Zheng from his enemies, including the feared Herders, criminals of the Han Chinese. Selected at a very young age, the Guillotines, led by Leng (Ethan Juang) solidify their familial bond as they are trained in a variety of deadly arts, including the guillotine itself...a spinning blade that they fire from a hooked metal device, much like a game of Jai Alai...if Jai Alai involved sharp medal blades and decapitations. Unfortunately for the Guillotines, fancy blades are on the way out, and guns are on the way in, threatening to render them obsolete.
Attempting to maintain their roles as essential services to the Emperor, The Guillotines are sent to execute a Han known as "Wolf", but things go wrong and their sister-Guillotine is captured by Wolf's gang of Herders. Holding a hostage of their own, Leng and his friends pursue Wolf into enemy territory to get their sister back, but the Emperor has other plans for them that may involve retiring their out-of-date weaponry for the newer, powder-driven models in an effort to hold onto his position of power.
Sadly, The Guillotines as a film doesn't have much going for it that really matters. What it does have are some pretty impressive setpieces and costume design that capture the feel of (I'm assuming) the era. The acting is certainly competent enough, and even an older, heavier Jimmy Wang Yu makes an appearance. A great deal of time and attention has also been squandered on special effects, and this is where the film suffers; while we get to spend a whole lot of the running time checking out slow-motion, CGI rock videos of the "Flying Guillotines" themselves, and while the fight scenes are choreographed nicely and contain a whole lot of slow-motion, CGI rock videos of the combatants themselves, there's really not much story or heart to the film. On more than one occasion, I was reminded of the Transformers films; Andrew Lau might have started with his heart in the right place, but the film doesn't seem to convey that.
That being said, there are certainly enough fans of Michael Bay's exhaustive use of computer-generated graphics that The Guillotines will probably find some fans, but too much style and definitely not enough substance causes this one to fall flat.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Coming to Well Go USA blu-ray in a 2.35:1 transfer, The Guillotines is definitely an impressive looking film, which conveys the well-designed sets and compliments the action (and CGI) scenes nicely. Loads of detail, a good range of colours, everything in this film is crisp and done nicely. The Mandarin 7.1 DTS HDMA soundtrack is almost overkill, utilizing the subs and surrounds heavily for most of the running time, and making sure to use that cool bass frequency drop as much as possible. No hiss, crackles, or anything else impede the track, and dialogue is crystal clear throughout.
There are also a couple of extras to be found on the disc. First up are almost 38 minutes of Interviews with the Cast and Crew, including Director Andrew Lau and Costume Designer Dora Ng. The interviews are fairly informative and worth seeing, though there is some overlap with the second featurette, a 17-minute Making Of, which focuses more on the discussion of the characters by the actors, interspersed with on-set footage.
Aside from these extras, there's also a trailer and previews for other Well Go USA titles.
The Final Word:
It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but The Guillotines will probably have fans; and this Well Go USA blu-ray is a pretty swell way to see it.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
