Available from WellGoUSA on 06/11/2024 on Digital and Blu-ray.
A SWAT captain blinded in a mission that went awry must get back into fighting shape when his daughter is in danger from a former foe.
Written by Laogou Lin and directed by Suiqiang Huo, this action film brings the blind swordsman idea to a modern setting, making him a father and former cop, giving him a different background, however, his skills become enhanced as seen many times before. Here, the film makes something somewhat new with the ideas it has, borrows from known sources, adds its own elements, shakes things up a bit, and gives the viewer something new to watch that while it feels familiar is still entertaining. This means that some of the beats are as expected, but there is enough new in here to make it not too predictable. The writing works, the direction works, the film works overall.
The cast here is mostly fun, with some of them really getting to have some scenery to chew, making the most of it. This isn’t a subtle performance type of film, it’s more in your face and a little extra throughout. Lead actor Andy On is good, making the most of his blind character and displaying decent acting and fun fighting skills. His work here is more interesting in the action scenes, but the slower sequences, the more dramatic ones are not bad either. He is joined by Li Zixiong and Yang Xin. Yang Xin gives a fun performance as one of the “bad guys” and makes the most of her colorful part. The cast overall works well, each actor bringing something extra to their performances, making them somewhat realistic, somewhat a bit too much, landing right in that magic spot where they become fun to watch even when not entirely believable.
The film’s look here is a bit gritty, a bit grey, a bit green, but it works here. The cinematography has some truly beautiful moments, and it does make the fight sequences and other action bits easy to watch and follow. The editing works decently well with this too, giving the film a dynamic and some energy, while not making these action sequences completely unwatchable (a trend of much more expensive films lately). Joining the cinematography and editing here are the VFX and the practical effects which add little bits of interest here and there for the latter and help with the story, settings, and characters for the former.
Overall, Blind War is an entertaining watch, not the best, not the worst, but something that is easy to watch, easy to follow, and easy to enjoy. There is a bit of cheesy writing here and there, the fight choreography works, and the drama is well, a bit overly dramatic, but it all comes together to create a film that can be watched any random evening and rewatched over time. The main appeal here is definitely not the drama, but the fights. This is one of those films where the story, while not terrible, comes second to the action and it makes it all work in the end.
