"Blocking the Horse and Capturing the Sword" is a costume martial arts action movie directed by Feng Xiaojun and starring Song Tianshuo, Zhang Xintong and others, which will be released on January 25, 2024. Although the leading actors are not the hottest stars of the moment, their professional background and superb acting skills inject a unique charm into the film. So, what kind of story does this movie tell? And what is it based on?
"Blocking the Horse and Grabbing the Sword" is based on the famous Peking Opera "Blocking the Horse", and for audiences who are not familiar with Peking Opera, they may not know this classic story. The film is based on Yang Menhu, and mainly tells the legendary experience of Jiao Guangpu and Yang Bajie and others who went through hardships and dangers after Yang Ye's golden knife was exiled to the Liao Kingdom, and finally worked together to bring the golden knife back to the Southern Dynasty. The film shows the spiritual core of the Yang family's soldiers who are loyal to the liver and courage, protect the family and defend the country, and also incorporates rich opera elements and suspense plots.
In the film, Yang Ye, as the old commander of the Yang family, is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people with his image of being brave and good at fighting and serving the country loyally. One of his golden knives was invincible on the battlefield and made great achievements for the Southern Dynasty. However, after Yang Yezhan died, the golden knife was exiled to the northern country, which became an unrelieved regret in the hearts of the descendants of the Yang family. In order to regain the golden knife, Yang Bajie and Yang Jiumei decided to go deep into the danger and join hands with Jiao Guangpu to start a thrilling journey to seize the knife.
Jiao Guangpu, played by Song Tianshuo, is one of the protagonists of the film, and he walks with the Yang sisters all the way to face various difficulties and challenges together. The fighting scenes in the film are wonderful, perfectly combining opera and martial arts, presenting a unique style of opera martial arts. At the premiere, Yang Ye's actor Wu Yue revealed the inspiration for the style of the film**, he said that he thought of the two-person fight in opera culture, so he integrated opera elements into the play, bringing a visual feast to the audience.
In addition, the characters in the film have distinct personalities and have their own characteristics. Yang Eighth Sister and Yang Jiumei are holding silver guns, heroic and cool, and their martial arts moves are smooth and pleasing to the eye. As a work with the theme of opera and martial arts, the movie not only presents a rich opera culture, but also shows the professionalism of the leading actors. Song Tianshuo was born in a family of Liyuan and learned to practice since he was a child; Zhang Xintong is a professional actor who graduated from the classical dance undergraduate class of the Performance Department of the China Academy of Drama. Their wonderful performances add more highlights to the film.
After the release of "Blocking the Horse and Snatching the Knife", the response was enthusiastic, and the audience's evaluation was decent. For audiences who like the theme of costume martial arts, this movie is undoubtedly a masterpiece worth watching.