The same team, the same routine, the same formula, and perhaps even the same horse.
The "knife wielder" played by Shi Xiaolong is not at all crazy, and I think having Jiang Qiming play the role might have led to a more exciting interpretation. To get to the point, the fight scenes are as exhilarating as ever, and designing matching martial arts movements for the characters is a basic skill that comes naturally to a light blade and fast horse.
The characters and actions can match, but the actor and the role do not quite fit.
Shi Xiaolong's action performance is fine; there's no need to worry about that since he comes from a background of martial arts child stars. Although he looks scruffy and dirty, speaking in a husky voice, it’s still easy to see his youthful face. Why does it feel this way?
Shi Xiaolong, nearing forty, still gives off a youthful and inexperienced vibe? Xie Miao, who is a few years older than him, has a face that tells a story.
The name "wolf dog" sounds crazy and terrifying; while the fighting is visually appealing, it lacks explosiveness, and Shi Xiaolong cannot convey that ruthless feeling.
Xie Miao, also a knife wielder, has skills honed by Jet Li himself—clean, sharp, and fierce. When it’s time to break someone’s limbs, he does it decisively without hesitation.
Xie Miao has transitioned from web films to theatrical releases, and now he shares the screen with Andy Lau and Nicholas Tse in "Raging Fire," which is highly anticipated.
It is said that next year there will be a collaboration with director Kenji Tanigaki on "Fire Covering Eyes," aiming for the international film scene. Who is Kenji Tanigaki? He is a protégé of Donnie Yen.
The unremarkable Shi Xiaolong is focused on turning "knife wielder" into a personal brand of martial arts film series, and a return to theaters is just around the corner.
Light blades and fast horses have created a martial arts metaverse, and Xie Miao’s character, Cheng Xiazi, is also a knife wielder. The "Arrogant and Unyielding" series has received good reviews, and continuing to shoot will surely yield good box office results.
What’s even more surprising is that the knife wielders are surprisingly similar to the Avengers, gathering heroes together.
In the post-credits scene of "knife wielder," Cheng Xiazi receives a wanted notice for the wolf dog.
Some audience members commented that Teacher Cao Jun hasn’t appeared for a long time, and his emotional wounds should be healed by now, so why not include him? Three martial arts child stars, each with their own flair, ultimately unite to form the "Knife Wielders Alliance" to fight monsters together.
This year, there’s also "Road of the Mad Blade," where Zhang Jin’s actions are very sharp and visually appealing; he should be the big boss of the "Knife Wielders Alliance."
The story structure of "knife wielder" is relatively simple. The good person must be in decline, but at a moment of warmth, they open the long-sealed door of their heart, leading to an instant epiphany, skyrocketing their combat power, transforming from a killer to a god of death; the bad person’s trait is to self-destruct, absolutely not allowing a glimmer of humanity to show, remaining completely dark, with no thoughts of remorse, and they must never be forgiven.
Playing a psychopath is difficult, but playing one who wants to express a tumultuous journey and ultimately longs to be a good person is even harder. Fortunately, with limited budget, there’s no time to tell how he struggles and twists into a psychopath.
Nowadays, no one wants to know how a psychopath becomes a psychopath.
The structure of such films is surprisingly consistent. The characters played by Zhang Jin, Xie Miao, and Shi Xiaolong all follow this pattern because it is effective.
The protagonist will definitely don armor, pick up weapons, unleash their inner universe, unleash powerful moves, and deliver strong outputs. The bad guy must die, and their death must be satisfying; begging for mercy is necessary, but they must never be forgiven.
What we want to see is a one-hit kill, a sword sealing the throat, a knife ending life. The trope of the bad guy suddenly realizing their mistakes and seeking redemption is no longer palatable.
In such a constrained creative environment, achieving success is not easy. The martial arts series of light blades and fast horses is akin to the embryonic form of Hong Kong action cinema, with the same routine, the same formula, rotating different directors, screenwriters, and actors, forming countless similar yet slightly different film combinations, knowing full well that they might even be using the same horse, yet still feeling exhilarated.
It looks like a fast-food web film produced on an assembly line, with low artistic value and insufficient core, but it meets a certain emotional release that people crave today. Good people are rewarded, and if a good person dies, no one reports it. The so-called justice lies in the hearts of the people; if justice itself is wrong, who will break it?
Therefore, martial arts will never die.