The Guillotines

Hong Kong/China/Taiwan 2012
produced by
Peter Chan, Hui Yuet-Jan, Andrew Lau, Gu Guoqing (executive), Hing Qin (executive), Peter Lam (executive), Yang Teng-Kuei (executive), Yang Zhi-Guo (executive), Zhou Li (executive) for We Pictures, Media Asia, Polyface Entertainment, Stellar Mega Films
directed by Andrew Lau
starring Huang Xiaoming, Ethan Juan, Purba Rgyal, Gao Tian, Zhou Yi Wei, Jing Boran, Guo Peng, Li Yuchun, Jimmy Wang Yu, Vivien Li, Jin Shi-Jye, Andrew Lau, Stephy Tang, Wen Zhang, Shawn Yue
written by Aubrey Lam, Joyce Chan, Hui Yuet-Jan, music by Chan Kwong Wing, visual effects by Vision Glovale, Nova VFX, Menfond Electronic Art & Computer Design Company, action choreographer: Lee Tat Chiu

review by
Mike Haberfelner

China, the Qing Dynasty: Manchu emperor Yongzheng (Andrew Lau) brutally oppresses the Han Chinese - butof late, they have a new leader, Wolf (Huang Xiaoming), who has just the right abilities and also fighting skills to lead a rebellion. So the emperor sends out his secret elite squad, the Guillotines (who kill using flying guillotines), to capture Wolf - and they're successful, too. But on his way to his public execution, Wolf is freed by the rebels and makes a good getaway, and when the Guillotines pursue him, one of their ranks, Musen (Li Yuchun) is captured. The leader of the Guillotines, Leng (Ethan Juan), takes this very personally and tries to rescue her personally, but is also captured by the rebels. In the rebel camp, Wolf shows him the other side of his organisation, the caring side, and his ideology and philosophy. And he proves to Leng that he's actually a Han Chinese himself. Also, Leng learns that Musen actually wants to remain with the rebels. Leng soon finds himself torn between duty and compassion, but then he learns the emperor has imported firearms from the West and thus is in no need of his elite squad anymore - not only that, he has decided to get rid of the guillotines ... and suddenly, Leng finds himself between a few too many chairs, and the situation gets so out of hands before long that it can't but end in a big bloodbath ...

At heart, The Guillotines is a big budget state of the art hommage to the usually slightly trashy flying guillotine movies of the 1970's. And while the film's most certainly swiftly and atmospherically directed, features breathtaking action setpieces and stunning camerawork, it's a decidedly less than perfect film: For one, the flying guillotines of old were wonderfully bizarre murder weapons that had a so-bad-it's-good charm to them, the flying guillotines in this movie are rather soulless CGI effects that seem to boast about their clockwork-like complexity that seems to be out of period with the rest of the movie. And in all, the film takes itself much too seriously, talks about big politics, philosophy and ideology, but doesn't have much to offer safe from the same old clichées yet again.

That's not to say though The Guillotines is a bad movie, there are plenty of scenes that do blow one away ... but at the same time it's decidedly less than perfect, narratively, and could have been much more fun, too!

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned)

The links below will take you just there!!!

Find The Guillotines at the amazons ...   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.de Looking for imports? Find The Guillotines here ...   eThaiCD.com Your shop for all things Thai Something naughty? (Must be over 18 to go there!)   find The Guillotines at adultvideouniverse.com

Thanks for watching !!!