Line #21 Film/FlyingSwordsOfDragonGate


1	[[quoteright:312:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Flying_Swords_of_Dragon_Gate_2_2685.jpg]]
2	A 2011 Wuxia film directed by Tsui Hark and starring Creator/JetLi (among others) set in the Ming Dynasty, and shot in 3D
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4	Zhou Huai'an (Jet Li) is a vigilante waging a war against the corrupt eunuchs of the Imperial Court. The Eunuchs are divided between East Bureau and West Bureau, both equally corrupt though West Bureau is clearly the more powerful. A pregnant woman escapes from the Imperial Court and is hunted down by West Bureau because of the possibility (however remote) she might be carrying the Emperor's child.
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6	From there, things get strange.
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8	It is a remake/sequel to the 1992 film ''Film/NewDragonGateInn''. Which, itself, was a remake/sequel of the 1967 ''Film/DragonGateInn''.
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10	----
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12	!!This film contains examples of
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14	* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Yu Huatian has one that ''goes through solid rock''.
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16
17	* DarkActionGirl: [[spoiler:Even Su Huirong, the woman they've all been after.]]
18	* AllLoveIsUnrequited: The ex-female innkeeper is in love with Zhou, who cares for her immensely but clearly does not return her affections. Meanwhile Feng Li Dao used to be in a relationship with his companion, who still likes him but hides it behind being strictly business. The current inkeeper meanwhile is infatuated with Feng despite his buttmonkey status while H'ganta is in love with her. Surprisingly, the only couple that gets together in the end is Feng Li Dao and the current innkeeper, who ride off to the capital leaving the former's companion frustrated, the latter's second in command H'ganta upset, and Zhou chasing after the ex- innkeeper, who is about to die from her wounds.
19	%%* BitchInSheepsClothing:
20	%%** [[spoiler: Su]]
21	%%** The Emperor's concubine. She's apparently so influential she created West Bureau.
22	%%* ButtMonkey: Feng Li Dao.
23	* DeathByCameo: Creator/GordonLiu is the first of the eunuchs to fall before Zhou.
24	%%* TheDragon: Ma Jianliang to Yu Huatian.
25	DragonInChief: Yu is actually this to the Emperor's jealous SmugSnake concubine.
26	* EpicFlail: Creator/JetLi has [[XOnAStick a sword on a chain.]] Your argument is invalid.
27	%%* HeelFaceTurn
28	* HistoricalInJoke: The movie ends with [[spoiler:the concubine responsible for all this being poisoned by Feng Li Dao posing as Yu Huatian. History simply lists her death as organ failure - and also notes that the successor to this Emperor never took concubines of his own. Now we know why.]]
29	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Su Huirong]] dies when she falls onto her own razor wire (see Laser Hallway below)
30	%%* IdenticalStranger
31	* ImAHumanitarian: The head of East Bureau drinks wine which has pickled body parts in it.
32	** Anyone who doesn't bring their own chop sticks to Dragon Gate Inn.
33	* ImprovisedWeapon: Everyone does this at some point, in pretty much all of the fight scenes. No chair, table, rock, wooden beam, teacup, flag, thatched roof, or shirtsleeve is left alone. A notable example is when Yu Huatian breaks the floor with his foot and kicks up a piece of debris to deflect a teacup thrown at his face.
34	* LaserHallway: a low-tech version, used by [[spoiler:Su]], consisting of RazorWire stretched tightly
35	* LighterAndSofter: It's the third version and second remake based off ''Dragon Gate Inn'', and by far the most light-hearted and least violent, with most of the action scenes being WireFu-based acrobatics, onscreen deaths being far less gory, and the darker themes (like the Dragon Gate Inn dealing with cannibalism an child murder) of previous versions omitted out. The protagonist played by Jet Li is also far more heroic and not as morally ambiguous as his predecessors.
36	%%* MadeOfIron
37	%%* TheMole
38	* RagnarokProofing: Averted with the hidden ruins. [[spoiler:Su Huirong even puts the booby traps there herself.]]
39	* RagTagBunchOfMisfits: To make an analogy; imagine Luke, Leia, Darth Vader, Han, Chewie, and Boba Fett were on a team together.
40	* RedRightHand: Ma Jianliang's mismatched eyes [[spoiler:and a GlasgowGrin under that mask.]]
41	* ShaggyDogStory: Sort of. [[spoiler: The Emperor's maid has been DeadAllAlong and the treasure is buried almost as soon as its found. The only people who get what they want is the rebels.]]
42	* SmugSnake: Yu Huatian, very much. A rare AuthorityEqualsAsskicking example. He's still an obnoxious ass, though.
43	* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: East Bureau, the villains from Film/NewDragonInn, are weaklings compared to WEST Bureau.
44	* SpaghettiWestern: Another {{Wuxia}} film to be stylistically influenced by melancholic and violent films of Sergio Leone (Donnie Yen's ''Film/FourteenBlades'' being another), being set in the windswepts deserts of ''Shing Jian'' Province, China.
45	* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: In a sense: Yu Hua Tian prefers to break swords into pieces and throw the shards instead.
46	* ThrowTheDogABone: The movie ends with [[spoiler:the major characters PutOnABus, leaving Feng Li Dao to finish their work, with the female innkeeper rebel in tow. His big plan - impersonate Yu Huatian one last time, and take down the ManBehindTheMan.]]
47	* TranslatorBuddy: TheBrute at Dragon Gate Inn works as this for the owner. [[spoiler:Except it's all a front.]]
48	* VanishingVillage: The real reason they're all there - a sandstorm every 60 years will uncover ancient ruins and the treasure hidden in them.
49	* WorldOfActionGirls: Several. Ling Yanqiu, the innkeeper, that BladeEnthusiast woman with the throwing knives that catch each other...
50	* XanatosGambit: [[spoiler: Su being an agent of West Bureau. They presumably executed the real concubine and have agents like her spread throughout creation to attract wandering do-gooders.]]
51	* {{Wuxia}}

Context Film / FlyingSwordsOfDragonGate