Why does this movie exist?
“Dragon Blade” is such a bizarre movie that I’ve put off covering until now. After my first viewing, my brain went to ZOMG historical fiction with John Cusack and Jackie Chan! Now, I’m just glad that Chan didn’t turn the film into more pro Communism propaganda like the rest of his non Western work for the last 15 years. Daniel Lee is a director that I wasn’t familiar with before this release, but I appreciate his vision. Taking what could’ve ended up a DTV title and giving it a scope on par with Yimou is no easy task.
That being said, it’s still an action epic where Cusack plays a Roman General and Jackie Chan helps him fight a mad Roman leader. This is the kind of schlock that used to keep Arkoff up at night. History doesn’t matter here, neither does correct casting or keeping tone straight. “Dragon Blade” is a loving throwback to the days when you could fart anything onscreen without having to worry about the 20 year old prissy Tumblr users complaining about it. The Blu-Ray comes with a featurette, Jackie Chan music videos, extended interviews and trailer gallery as the special features. As far as I’m concerned, this movie is required Christmas viewing.
RELEASE DATE: 12/22/2015