Jet Li can act.

There. I said it. Never thought I would, but there you go. I finally got around to watching The Warlords (Tou Min Zhuang 2007) the other night and, well, I was pret-ty amazed.

Set during the Qing dynasty in 19th-century China and starring box-office darlings Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro and our returning Hollywood veteran, Peter Chan’s 120-and-a-bit minute work is every bit the excitement, the drama and the emotions I was hoping for.

Taking the bleak, gritty approach to the tale of brotherhood (rather than the eye-pleasing, colourful one of Zhang Yimou’s recent movies such as Hero and House of Flying Daggers), it features the three audience favourites deviating from their usual character stereotypes. Lau impresses as a savage a kind-hearted brute, and Li’s character starts off as a fat, filthy coward. Kaneshiro’s performance is as solid as those of his counterparts, albeit in some scenes he looks a bit too pretty and his teeth seem a little too shiny for those muddy battlegrounds.

It is only Xu Jinglei’s character that appears a little underdeveloped; however she does provide just the right amount of tension, and the male characters’ reactions to her (rather than her own actions) perfectly illustrate the protagonists’ struggle to stick to their honourable principles as they continue to rise to power.

As a whole, this is not groundbreaking, but an absolutely engaging and very well-directed piece of film with three stellar leads- and perhaps it’s what Mr. Zhang was trying (and failed) to achieve himself.

Check out this amazing song the even more amazing Andy Lau did for the movie.