Title: Blades of Blood (AKA: Like the Moon Escaping from the Clouds)
Directed by: Joon-Ik Lee
Starring: Seong-hyeon Baek, Seung-won Cha and Kim Chang-Wan
Running time: 108 minutes, Rated R
In 1592, Korea is threatened by Japanese invasion. Mong-hak Lee is a power hungry revolutionist who uses the rebel army to overthrow the government before Japan can take over. A blind swordsman Jung-hak Hwang, the bastard son of a nobleman Gyeong-ja and Lee’s former courtesan Baek-ji are trying to catch up with Mong-hak Lee with reasons of revenge for his wrongdoings, before Lee meets his fate with the impending invasion.
I watched this DVD with the English dubbing, which I outright love when they do on foreign films. The English voice actors are laughable, and made the film much more tolerable since the film was wall to wall melodrama. It had the cliché plot of the blind swordsman training the young inexperienced troubled youth and a love story that was seemingly one sided up until the end. One thing I couldn’t tell if it was a continuity error or not, but it involved character Mong-hak Lee and his endless supply of white robes. He gets somebody’s blood on his robe in every scene and then magically changes to all white again; anybody could use this piece as a drinking game.
The extras include a Making of Blades of Blood, cast interviews and trailers.
The sword fighting action scenes were good, but the story was too generic. I’m guessing they were going for historical accuracy, but each character’s storyline was just built up for nothing. Although, the funniest thing about the ending that plays into the credits, is the song sung by Baek-ji with the English dubbing; it’s hysterical.
Total rating: C
Reviewed by: JM Willis
