The Wild Blade of Strangers (2024) - Max Zhang

[Drunken Monk]

Max Zhang is back on Chinese streaming service, iQiyi, next month with The Wild Clade of Strangers. To be honest, it doesn't look bad! iQiyi has had some luck recently with some genuinely decent martial arts films. Hopefully, this will be another one... 

Is that Luxia Jiang on the thumb nail as well? Looks like her.

Edited February 29 by Drunken Monk

[laagi]

57 minutes ago, Drunken Monk said:

Max Zhang is back on Chinese streaming service, iQiyi, next month with The Wild Clade of Strangers. To be honest, it doesn't look bad! iQiyi has had some luck recently with some genuinely decent martial arts films. Hopefully, this will be another one... 

Is that Luxia Jiang on the thumb nail as well? Looks like her.

I just hope he gets a movie somewhere down his career road which will give him a chance to showcase his talents before inevitable it's too late.

The guy's been in more turkeys that I can't be bothered to remember!

[laagi]

Oh Max my dear friend, looks like you just can't catch a break!? Certainly a step up from his last appearance in the horrendous 'Wolf Pack' but this is far from great let alone good.

How this got a limited theatrical release in China is beyond me to be totally honest. From the get go this screams direct-to-streaming! Which isn't necessarily bad but at least know what you're selling. It's still a pig no matter how much lipstick you put on it.

The movie feels like a stage play, aside from some exterior shots most done in poor CGI, all we get are interior sets which we've probably seen a thousand times by now. Recycled to infinity and beyond to serve one purpose only to shoot and produce as many of these movies in the cheapest quickest way possible.

At least some decent costumes and props but that's not saying much. The action is however without a doubt the biggest letdown. While there is an increasing number of set pieces every scene is either edited to hell or full of useless gimmicks. Can someone please tell action choreographers that slow-mow isn't a thing anymore! Most scenes left me nauseated rather than anything else.

It's a real shame as once more talent in front of the camera would've been there but apparently nobody knew what to do with it. At least we get a giant using a midget as a rope dart for no other reason whatsoever of just being there.

Overall this is another disappointing venture of Max Zhang. I don't know if he or his management are to blame for these terrible choices but the man is about to turn 50 years old and what once seemed like a rising and promising star in Martial Arts cinema seems to slowly fade away in to obscurity or a even worse fate chinese streaming hell. Here's hoping for the man!