5 reasons you might like Blades of the Guardians (2026).

Jul 11

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We have had some really fantastic action films this year and I’m about to add one more to your watchlist. I am Jason Kleeberg, this is Force Five, and here are five reasons you might like Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert.

Reason number 5, if you liked John Wick 3, specifically the idea that John Wick had a price on his head so interesting assassins with different looks and tactics came out of the woodwork to try to kill him, well, this film is a great companion piece. In Blades of the Guardians, Dao Ma, an expert sword fighter and bounty hunter who travels with his young niece takes a job to protect Zishailang, a disruptive political voice and the largest bounty along the Silk Road in China. As word gets out, Dao Ma and a few other very capable people in the party, including the extremely cocky, talented and beautiful Ayuya, are hunted by the best bounty hunters and war factions in the area, leading to incredible fights and action set pieces.

Reason number 4, this movie looks amazing, specifically the set design, cinematography, and costume design. Different towns and cities look varied and are all really interesting - Mojia Village, for example, has a giant cherry blossom tree right in the middle of it, it also has Jackie Chan in the middle of it as an added bonus. There’s a flashback to a place called Yongning Imperial Palace that’s covered in snow that looks incredibly striking and the barren desert that was the silk road looks gorgeous. The costume design was my favorite part of the visuals - each faction has its own distinctive look, some have really intricate masks, the Jade Faced Ghost sports white hair and one blue eye, an assassin has a flip out Wolverine like claw and an eyepatch, everything feels intentionally stylish without being cartoonish and I could not get enough of it.

Reason number 3, those side characters I mentioned are incredible. Ayuya is played by Chen Lijun, an Opera singer turned actor who was most recently in the series New Dragon Inn, which was based on the 1992 Choi Hock / Donnie Yen film. She’s an expert archer and has eyes for Dao Ma and she is a lot of fun. Nicholas Tse plays Di Ting, a ruthless bounty hunter that you know from the moment you see him, we’re heading for a Di Ting / Dao Ma showdown in the climax. Jet Li gets a scene here as Emperor Chang, and he gets a great 2 on 1 fight scene against both Dao Ma and an assassin known as the Two Headed Snake. Possibly my favorite side character in a movie full of great ones is Yan Ziniang, a bounty being transported by the Jade Faced Ghost. She is equal parts funny and cunning, using her sexuality to get the best of everyone around her. It seems like every turn in this film has a new, interesting character to check out.

Reason number 2, Jing Wu is amazing as Dao Ma - he’s confident and cool, wearing a black cloak and hat that became iconic by the mid-point in the film for me. There’s a sweetness to the relationship he has with his niece that you can see simply by how he looks at her. His relationship with Ayuya is also really fun to watch, as he feigns indifference while being visibly amused by her clear affection toward him. I also loved that he’s simply in the bounty game for the money, as in the first scene we watch him attempt to barter with his target for more money in exchange for the man’s freedom. Not to mention, his fight scenes are incredible.

Reason number 1, all of the fight scenes are incredible. The choreography in this film is insane, in my opinion only surpassed in 2026, by The Furious. While there’s a pretty standard fight scene that starts things out, the fight against Jet Li takes place about 15 minutes in and it was at that point I knew I was watching something special. It was directed by Yuen Woo Ping, and if you’re into Hong Kong wuxia films, that name should mean a lot - he has either directed or directed the action for so many incredible films throughout the years, including Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Iron Monkey, the Ip Man films, The Matrix films, Kill Bill and so many more. There’s an action scene where Dao Ma is dodging arrows while on a horse and he’s jumping, sliding and reorienting himself while knocking others off of their horses and it’s a sight to behold. There’s also a fight in an oil field where fires are raging and swords are lit on fire that is an incredible visual, just so cool.

If you’re into wuxia films, sword play or any of the reasons I mentioned above have your heart racing, check out Blades of the Guardians. If you’ve seen Blades of the Guardians, what did you think? And what’s your favorite wuxia film? Let me know down in the comments or at forcefivepodcast@gmail.com

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