Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield – Reel Asian 2017

BrotherhoodofBlades

BrotherhoodofBlades

An imperial guard finds himself framed for treason in . Shen Lian (Chen Chang) is an imperial guard captain in 1627 Beijing, who eight years prior saved, his now colonel, Lu Wenzhao () on the battlefield. Shen is assigned to assassinate artist Bei Zhai (), who is apparently working with a group of rebels. When Bei Zhai escapes and his lieutenant ends up dead, Shen is placed under investigation by Pei Lun (), who begins to unearth damning evidence against Shen.

Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield is a Chinese historical action/drama from director Yang Lu. Despite being a follow-up to an earlier 2014 film, Brotherhood of Blades II doesn’t really require that you watch the original to understand what is going on. The film begins at the end of an epic battle in 1619, where Lu Wenzhao and Shen Lian are two of the only survivors among thousands of corpses. The action moves forward eight years, when Shen finds himself investigating the murder of a master and finds himself in the middle of plot by rebels to overthrow the emperor and his main adviser Wei Zhongxian (). As Shen finds himself framed for the rebels crimes, he decides to fight to clear his name.

Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield is a film that mixes Chinese historical drama with some pretty impressive battle sequences. The film is anchored by a lead performance by Taiwan as Chen Chang as Shen Lian, who finds his loyalties divided between the imperial guard and the group of rebels, who force Shen to perform some terrorist acts. Altogether, Brotherhood of Blades II is an entertaining mix of drama and action.

8 / 10 stars
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Sean Patrick Kelly

Sean Patrick Kelly is a Toronto-based freelance film critic and blogger with a Bachelor of Arts in Cinema and Media Studies from York University. Since founding his site in 2004, Sean has shared his passion for cinema through insightful reviews and commentary. His work has also been featured in prominent outlets, including Toronto Film Scene, HuffPost Canada, Screen Anarchy, ScreenRant, and Rue Morgue Magazine.

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