The Guillotines (2013)
Average Rating: 4.2/10
Reviews Counted: 11
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 9
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 4.4/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 5
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.3/5
User Ratings: 189
Movie Info
It is the deadliest weapon made by man. The mere mention of its name fills hearts with terror. Long shrouded in mystery, it launches from a distance and locks onto the target's head, the internal blades decapitating the victim with the yank of a chain. A weapon of choice for elite fighters, the flying guillotine leaves victims begging for mercy. A secret brotherhood of assassins - known only as The Guillotines - were once favored by the Emperor, but are now a force of terror and oppression under
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Cast
-
Xiaoming Huang
Wolf -
Ethan Juan
Leng -
Shawn Yue
Haidu -
Li Yuchun
Guillotine Musen -
Jing Boran
Shisan -
Zhang Wen
Qianlong -
-
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All Critics (11) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (2) | Rotten (9)
The lack of rip-roaring martial arts or even a half-decent storyline will leave genre aficionados feeling short-changed.
Top CriticThe plot is of little importance - the spectacular action and gorgeous landscapes and costumes are what matter.
The blades fly as do the heads, but the movie remains disappointingly aground.
A historical action epic set during the Qing dynasty that amounts to a bait-and-switch for wuxia fans stoked for steel-meets-flesh mayhem.
A corny saga of social and generational conflict, it's ultimately yet another Chinese period epic that functions as a thinly veiled treatise on the nobility of socialist equality.
All the solemnity is deadly: Not one of these superhuman gang members registers in memory, and you feel stiffed on gory giggles. Talk about having your chain yanked.
Any topical relevance for the material is compromised by a script that is woefully clumsy and melodramatic.
Although a bit too gory for me and difficult to follow at times, the film also boasts some gorgeous visuals as well as intriguing characters played by Ethan Juan and Xiaoming Huang.
The Guillotines expends most of its energy in its first 30 minutes, leaving the audience with roughly 90 minutes of soapy Qing Dynasty fan fiction.
Despite the multitude of cinematic tricks the prolific Andrew Lau has up his sleeve, the film is a disappointingly rote entry in the wuxia pantheon.
Clearly a commentary on the shifting status of rule in modern day China, the prolific Lau's latest is nevertheless an obtuse work that buries much of its subtext and historical relevance beneath overstated dramatics and cacophonous staging.
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Foreign Titles
- The Guillotines (Xue di zi) (DE)
- The Guillotines (Xue di zi) (UK)
