From Wong Fei-hung's dad to Ip Man to Guan Yu... damn!
The Lost Bladesman is a 2011 Hong Kong film starring Donnie Yen as Guan Yu, the popular red-faced general from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but in his final days as a general and leader of his army. The movie depicts Guan Yu's last journey, crossing the five gates and returning to Liu Bei, his sworn brother, for the final years of his service.
Yen also served as the action director, besides starring as the titular general. Its notably one of the more drama-focused adaptation of the Guan Yu myth. In fact, Donnie was convinced by the producers to take on the titular role, due to the movie being a chance for him to showcase his more natural "acting" ability, instead of being just "another regular action star".
This film contains examples of:
- Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene: Happens surprisingly frequently, with plenty of conversations and bonding scenes between Guan Yu, Qilan, and Guan’s various generals and brothers-in-arms throughout the film.
- Barbarian Longhair: Bian Xi, Guan Yu’s main opponent when attempting to cross Yishui Pass.
- BFS: Wang Zhi attempts to fight Guan Yu wielding a sword that, with its tip pressed against the floor, reaches up to his chest. Against Guan Yu, he lasts as long as you’d expect.
- Call to Agriculture: After the Battle of Baima, Guan Yu returns to his hometown intending to become a farmer.
- Chase Fight: During the scene where Qilan gets abducted by enemy soldiers on horseback, Guan Yu on his trusty steed pursues them through a narrow corridor and hacks at them while trying to reach her.
- Don't Look Back: While leaving to go back to Liu Bei near the end of the film, Guan Yu quotes the old Chinese proverb, "A Good Horse Doesn’t Eat the Grass Growing Behind Him".
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: In the final battle scene, Guan Yu was stabbed In the Back by Qilan, but survives, and the subsequent forest fight scene becomes *slightly* harder than most of Guan Yu’s earlier battles because of his injury.
- Ending Memorial Service: For Guan Yu
- Epic Flail: Bian Xi’s preferred weapon, a spiked ball on a chain. Although like practically all the other generals who tried challenging Guan Yu, Bian gets his ass kicked easily too.
- Foregone Conclusion: The movie opens with Guan Yu’s funeral, so no points guessing if he would survive the movie or not.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: The battle between Guan Yu and Bian Xi. As Guan draws his trusty blade, Bian Xi had 40 mooks surround Guan, and leads the mooks into battle just as a pair of doors swings close. We hear plenty of commotion coming from behind the shut doors, then Bian Xi’s flail suddenly bursts out through one of them before the doors open to reveal a courtyard full of dead enemies, Bian Xi included, all around Guan.
- Off with His Head!: Guan Yu’s eventual fate, through execution, though it happened offscreen and we only see his head in a sack afterwards.
- One-Man Army: Guan Yu, who can chop up dozens of enemies without much difficulty. Even against named opponents or Elite Mooks, they all just end up dead from being hacked into bits by his giant friggin’ blade.
- Samurai Ponytail: Guan Yu’s common hairstyle whenever he’s not in his helmet or hat.
- Shield-Bearing Mook: One scene had Guan Yu fighting his way past a horde of mooks armed with shields, who tried using their weapons as a makeshift wall to prevent Guan Yu from leaving. Guan Yu instead knocks them down and then use their overturned shields as stepping stones to climb his way out.
- Slipping a Mickey: Cao Cao tries to get Guan Yu to become sexually aroused with his sword brother Liu Bei’s concubine Qilan by spiking his food with aphrodisiac, but the noble bladesman manage to contain himself entirely.
- Step into the Blinding Fight: Guan Yu against a legion of Imperial archers in a misty forest at dusk. Although, being Guan Yu, the fight turns quickly into his favour.
