Blades of the Guardians (鏢人:風起大漠). 2026. China. Directed by Yuen Woo-ping. With Wu Jing, Nicholas Tse, Sun Yizhou, Chen Lijun, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Kara Wai, Jet Li. DCP courtesy Well Go USA Entertainment. In Mandarin; English subtitles. 130 min.
Yuen Woo-ping’s latest directorial effort is a sweeping wuxia epic set against the blazing expanse of the Taklamakan Desert, where a mercenary hired to escort a political fugitive finds himself caught between warring factions, relentless bounty hunters, and age-old rivals. Yuen turns the desert itself into a living combatant, pitting his warriors against the merciless terrain as much as one another. Every set piece is built on movement legibility and spatial clarity, delivering action of breathtaking scale without sacrificing precision. The ensemble spans generations screen royalty—Jet Li, Tony Leung Ka-fai, and Kara Wai alongside contemporary powerhouses Wu Jing, Nicholas Tse, and Max Zhang—all joined by a new generation of rising talent and performing actual combat following rigorous training in martial arts, weapons handling, horsemanship, and archery. The result is a relentless spectacle that reaffirms Yuen’s enduring mastery of cinematic action.