Line #46 Film/TheWarlords


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/warlords_ver6.png]]
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3	''The Warlords'' (投名狀) is a [[HongKongFilms Hong Kong]] EpicMovie directed by Peter Chan and starring Creator/JetLi, Creator/AndyLau, Creator/TakeshiKaneshiro and Xu Jinglei. Released on December 13, 2007, ''The Warlords'' is set during the 1860s when the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiping_Rebellion Taiping Rebellion]] was underway in the late UsefulNotes/QingDynasty of UsefulNotes/ImperialChina. The story is based loosely on the RealLife [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Xinyi assassination of Qing general Ma Xinyi]].
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5	Pang Qingyun (Jet Li) is a general of the Qing army and following a crushing defeat by the Taiping where he's the SoleSurvivor, he stumbles onto a village and is nursed back to health by a woman named Liansheng (Xu Jinglei). The village is comprised of bandits, who rob convoys from the Qing and Taiping for their supplies in order to feed themselves. Following a successful raid on a Taiping battalion, the Qing army attacks the village and seizes the supplies for themselves. Through convincing Liansheng's husband Zhao Erhu (Andy Lau), Jiang Wuyang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and other men in the village, Qingyun reforms an army to fight the Taiping, in hopes the village won't have to starve from the on-going war. To secure their friendship, Qinyun, Erhu and Wuyang swear a BloodOath, with death as their punishment should they break their new bond.
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7	The film plays heavily on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: ideally, the [[SwornBrothers blood brothers]] want to end the war quickly as possible, with hopes their loved ones back home can be safe and secure; cynically, ''The Warlords'' showcases how brutal one of the most bloodiest, largest and near-forgotten conflicts in Asia truly was, but also how ambition, back-door politics, and conspiracies are what drives men to deeper extremes.
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9	The movie is a remake of the old Creator/ShawBrothers epic, ''Film/BloodBrothers1973'', although with the names of the protagonists changed and with a slightly altered ending.
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11	Notably, ''The Warlords'' was the first collaboration between Jet Li and Takeshi Kaneshiro in a decade, ever since ''Film/DrWaiInTheScriptureWithNoWords''.
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13	!! The Warlords contains examples of the following:
14	* AnArmAndALeg: Taken to the extreme with Qingyun, Erhu and Wuyang hacking limbs and severing legs left and right. Notably the big battle that climaxes the second act, with Qingyun severing seven legs with a single swoop of his weapon!
15	* AmbitionIsEvil: Played with - sure, Qingyun is rapidly gaining prestige and notoriety for quickly recapturing Taiping-occupied territory, but that begins to be taken as a sign he wants to overthrow the Qing lords. [[spoiler:The fact the Empress Dowager orders Qingyun's assassination, on the case that an "outsider" shouldn't be holding a powerful position when she appoints him as Governor of Nanjing, says it all]].
16	* BarehandedBladeBlock: During the bandit raid against a Taiping convoy, Qingyun saves Wuyang before a {{Mook}} has the chance to kill him by doing this.
17	* BearTrap: Erhu, Wuyang and their villagers fight and ambush a Taiping convoy marching through a deep valley by setting up a number of these hidden in the ground, ensnaring a few of the horses and soldiers at the front of the convoy.
18	* BloodOath: Sworn between the three brothers.
19	* TheCavalry: In this case, this trope is already present at the first battle, but they don't make a move since they're only reinforcements. It's only until Qingyun's men of 800 manages to anger and rouse the rebel army of 5000 that they do move in and assist.
20	* CavalryBetrayal: General He Kui towards Qingyun at the beginning of the film, hence Qingyun's disgust for the former throughout the film.
21	* CacophonyCoverUp: [[spoiler:Qingyun's assassin uses cannon fire during his inauguration as Governor of Nanjing to drown out the sound of rifle shots]].
22	* CorruptBureaucrat: Mixed with CorruptPolitician, The Qing lords and He Kui
23	* DecapitationPresentation: Wuyang in the first battle with the rebel commander's head.
24	* {{Determinator}}: [[spoiler:Even though Wuyang is getting a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown by Qingyun when he goes to kill him]], the former still staggers towards the latter.
25	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Erhu is assassinated on the Qing lords' orders to Qingyun, Wuyang kills Liansheng because he wrongly believes Qingyun's affair with Liansheng motivated the former, and he fulfills the BloodOath by ending Qingyun's life. Wuyang becomes TheScapegoat in Qingyun's death - a convenience since the Qing lords and the Empress Dowager were already plotting to assassinate Qingyun from the start. Wuyang is executed two months later, and [[WrittenByTheWinners the conspiracy is covered up]]. All major characters do not survive]].
26	* DualWielding: Wuyang ''really'' loves using daggers and always carries two around.
27	* EpicMovie: According to the director, ''The Warlords'' isn't meant to be a martial arts film; instead, the movie plays on an individual's affections and camaraderie with their fellow man, citing ''Film/ABetterTomorrow'' being a large influence here.
28	* AFatherToHisMen: Erhu deeply cares for his subordinates compared to the other two of the FreudianTrio. {{Deconstructed}} as this trait [[spoiler:and using the royal treasury to pay his soldiers provides an excuse for the Qing lords to manipulate Qingyun to assassinate Erhu]].
29	* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler:The NumberTwo to the dead Suzhou Taiping general quiets his troops just before Wuyang orders the Qing army to execute them]].
30	* FreudianTrio: Qingyun (superego), Erhu (id), Wuyang (ego)
31	* GoryDiscretionShot: The camera focuses only Wuyang and the Qing archers [[spoiler:during the Suzhou massacre. The fact Wuyang ''and'' the archers are disgusted and reluctant to kill the helpless rebels, yet know what will happen if they don't, says it all]]. It's safe to say that at this point in the movie, things start going downhill.
32	* GreyAndGrayMorality: Discussed thoroughly during the RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil scene (see below)
33	* GrievousHarmWithABody: During the big battle scene with the rebels, Qingyun impales a rebel with his halberd, then hurls the rebel on top of a cannon, causing the cannon to misfire and crush several nearby rebels instead.
34	* HeroicBSOD: Erhu [[spoiler:after Qingyun orders the surviving Taiping troops at Suzhou to their deaths]].
35	* HeroicSacrifice: A {{Mook}} saves Qingyun during the first battle by putting himself ''directly'' at a Taiping cannon before it fires. LudicrousGibs ensue.
36	* HonorBeforeReason: The Taiping general of Suzhou [[spoiler:dies willingly in a duel against Erhu, since [[KnowWhenToFoldEm he wants to save the city's starving citizens (including his troops) after a year-long siege by the Qing]]]]. Erhu complies his request; unfortunately, Qingyun sees it differently.
37	* IDidWhatIHadToDo: [[spoiler:Qingyun kills an entire contingent of Taiping prisoners of a surrendered city after the {{The Siege}} to prevent food shortages from bringing them along their journey as prisoners, so the Qing can quickly recapture Nanjing -- whose populace outnumbers that city -- to prevent his military/political rival He Kui from committing RapePillageAndBurn over it. [[Main/TearJerker Both his subordinates and Erhu are unhappy about the ordeal]]]].
38	* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: [[spoiler:Like the entry in IDidWhatIHadtoDo, Qingyun's reasons also includes lack of large supplies to feed prisoners-of-war, nor does he trust them if they're conscripted; even if they are released, he fears they will join up with another Taiping regiment. Ultimately, he demands their execution by volleys of arrows. To put a salt upon the wound, average citizens were also part of TheSiege]].
39	* KilledMidSentence: Before the penultimate battle between the Qing army and the rebels, a Taiping messenger marches up and declares that the rebels outnumbers the Qing army by over a few thousand men, and they should consider surrendering. Erhu removes the messenger's head before he could continue any further.
40	* MurderTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler:Wuyang discovers Liansheng is having an affair with Qingyun and falsely believes Erhu's death is arranged by Qingyun because of it, leading him to kill Liansheng]].
41	* RainOfArrows: Can be seen in one of the battle scenes.
42	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Two young Qing soldiers have their way with some captive women after the army captured a city. While Erhu claims it's normal since their army has already committed RapePillageAndBurn after taking the city (and given three days to so), Qingyun orders their execution, citing anarchy if he lets his soldiers have their way with anything, but also to personally prove his men are ethically and morally better than He Kui's troops.
43	* RapePillageAndBurn: An entire montage of this when the Qing army conquers a Taiping-occupied city
44	* TheRival: He Kui to Qingyun
45	* RockBeatsLaser: Even though the Taiping army in the first battle are armed with 200 rifles, they're still no match for basic archers, led by an infantry charge. JustifiedTrope since the Qing army are given faulty rifles, but they also combine it with WeHaveReserves by promising their soldiers higher pay to act as {{Human Shield}}s for the archers.

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