Warlords (Tau ming chong) poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Xu Jinglei

Love, politics, and loyalty threaten to tear apart three soldiers in this lavish historical epic from Hong Kong. In 1870, the power of the corrupt Qing Dynasty has been threatened by the rise of a rev... read more read more...olutionary army, led by religious fanatics, and civil war is tearing the nation apart. Pang Qingyun (Jet Li), a good man who finds himself fighting for the Qing leadership, is one of the only survivors of a bloody battle in between revolutionaries and Qing troops, and is looking for someplace to go when he's offered shelter by a beautiful peasant woman, Lian (Xu Jinglei). Pang and Lian spend the night in each others arms, and he finds himself falling in love with her. Pang sets out to make his way home when he's befriended by Zhao Erhu (Andy Lau) and Jiang Wuyang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a pair of bandits. When Jiang is attacked in an ambush, Pang helps save his life, and the three men become blood brothers in a gory ritual. Pang convinces Jiang and Zhao to join him in the fight against the revolutionaries, and with their help Pang is able to achieve some impressive victories. However, when Pang allows his own ego and dreams of glory to override his common sense and loyalty, Zhao and Jiang come to distrust their ally, and matters become worse when it is revealed that Lian is Zhao's wife. Tou Ming Zhuang (aka The Warlords) was a major box-office success in China and Eastern Asia before making its way to theaters in Europe and the United States. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

68% liked it

49,276 ratings

Critics

65% liked it

51 critics

R, 2 hr. 10 min.

Directed by: Peter Chan

Release Date: April 2, 2010

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: August 12, 2008

Stats: 2,231 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Tau ming chong (Warlords)
Upload a Photo | View All Warlords (Tau ming chong) Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (2,231)

  • allan913
    April 4, 2011
    allan913
    A triumphant epic adventure in scope and in incredible battle sequences. A spectacular and exhilarating action-packed adventure. A fierce, brutal, tremendous and breathtaking movie. A wickedly well-crafted and designed piece of spic movie-making. It's thrilling, deeply moving and... read more very powerful. Jet Li gives a strong and excellent performance, one of his best ever. Andy Lau is magnificent. Takeshi Kaneshiro is dazzling. These three stars give triumphant performances and work great with one another. An explosive and fearless action movie that delivers and it's totally unforgettable. A brilliant and extraordinary movie.
  • binky013
    September 17, 2010
    binky013
    I've heard that Jet Li will no longer do historical-period movies. I've also heard a rumor that he may be retiring from the movie business altogether. This to me is very sad news and/or rumor all the way around. After all these years, it has become so apparent that he is final... read morely growing into a first-class actor. Sure, he came in for the martial arts flash -- and after all these years, he can still deliver some pretty amazing physical work. But in addition to slogging through the kung fu grinder, he has also, wonderfully, grown into such a good actor along the way.

    Even should he limit his work to less demanding physical material from now on, I truly hope he keeps up his acting career until he really can't manage it at all anymore.
  • ythelastman89
    August 15, 2010
    ythelastman89
    An extremely well done movie, the cinematography is like no other war epic. The story is powerful and one of the most emotional stories of brotherhood. Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro are great together. They all turn out wonderful performances that make the movie more tha... read moren just an anti-war statement. The early battle scenes are beautifully done, as are the dramatic scenes that take place later on. It's an epic, but truly rooted within the characters rather than the war itself or even the politics.
  • kpn666
    June 12, 2010
    kpn666
    A powerful, emotional epic about war, brotherhood and the bonds that bring men together... and how they eventually break apart.

    Three of Asia's finest combine to play three men drawn together to make a blood pact. Led by their Big Brother, Pang (Jet Li) a General in the Ching A... read morermy, he enlists the aid of two bandit leaders (Kaneshiro and Lau) to help form an army to conquer their enemies and provide safety for their families.

    Its a bloody spectacle, this one. After the audacity of Kill Bill, more and more movies are taking the bloody approach to violence, including missing body parts and plenty of blood.

    But the movie is not just about war, its politics, honor, intrigue, love and of course - betrayal. the movie goes through depicting the brother's relationships through the tempest of war, broken promises and loyalties. Eventually, it reaches breaking point and all that they have worked to achieve together will become undone as their blood pact ensures their fate. And enemies and political power will make sure that none of them survive.


    A massive bloodletting, it does well to create the story, characters and emotion, and we do see it in a downward spiral to the abyss. A story with no happy ending.

    Enjoy!
  • garyX
    April 1, 2010
    garyX
    Jet Li, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau unite to play three blood brothers who lead a bandit army to victory during Chinese civil war in the mid 19th century. There is something very WESTERN about Warlords. Perhaps it is the reliance on big star names rather than a rich ensemble c... read moreast. Perhaps it is the committee written script (although I fail to see why so many names needed to be attached to such a sparse affair). Perhaps it was the fact that all the attention to detail and effort went to the bombastic slo-mo battle sequences. Whatever it is, Warlords felt far more like something in the vein of Alexander than Hero or Crouching Tiger. There is a real lack of humanity about it, and the barely sketched out characters did little more than spout sound bite style platitudes about honour while they showed their "depth" by shedding a tear when doing what "must be done" (ie butcher innocent, unarmed people). In fact there is a real dubious morality about it all, it smacking of the kind of fascist apologism of 24, particularly during the Kaneshiro speech when he finally "understands" about having to kill to do the right thing which left an especially nasty taste in my mouth. I didn't really care about any of the characters, only Andy Lau's garnering any sympathy at all, and their relationships and characterisation are less than minimal until the final act when at long last some mildly interesting political machinations come into effect, although even then the blatant misogynism of Kaneshiro's "solution" to the brothers feud is less than pleasant. As is the case with nearly all of its Hollywood counterparts, the spectacle of Warlords is worth a watch, but everything else about it is soulless, mechanical and ill conceived.
  • Deano78
    September 15, 2009
    Deano78
    Another big battle epic set in China's past. Some of the battle scenes are very good and the acting is impressive but the overall story just wasn't that interesting to me. It just sets up one battle up after another really. Curse of the Golden flower was visually more impressive ... read moreand has a better storyline to it. The two are very similar.
  • deano
    August 11, 2009
    deano
    Jet Li takes the lead in this remake of 1973's Blood Brothers, which is light on fast footwork and plays as a grand-scale tragic war movie about a doomed visionary.
    In his martial arts film, Li is usually a slim Buddha, effective in action but otherwise bland. Here, with a... read more none-too-well-shaven head, he delivers a different, powerful performance as a complex anti-hero. Lau matches him as the honest thief agonised by his friend's ruthlessness. Given the way Chinese epics go, it's not too much of a spoiler to say both stars get standout death scenes.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    August 28, 2008
    DragonEyeMorrison
    Heavy production but weak script, is pretty much a movie build around Jet Li, who does shows that his acting skills can't be debated anymore. But it's just a shame that other characters and situations feel hardly explored, thus, resting emotional weight to the final act. The char... read moreacter of Jinglei Xu pretty much ends up being just a mere plot device instead of a fully developed character. Her chemistry with both Lau and Jet is limited, the script doesn't help there and the girl is not exactly a Gong Li or Maggie Cheung.

    I can't say i was bored, but not as engaged as i could have been. That said, the movie is not romantic about war at all, and neither about politics.
  • skactopus
    June 18, 2008
    skactopus
    Based off "The Assassination of Ma," Warlords may not seem all that impressive at first, but by the ending you will see that there is more to it than meets the eye.

    The main concept of the story deals with politics and loyalty. You will not really see the true meaning o

    ... read moref this from the first part of the film. The story is really unimpressive at the start, as it really does make the film look like a typical Chinese war conquer movie. Luckily, as the film develops, the story unravels, and by the hour mark the film feels really different from where it began. This is a good thing. There is quite a bit of action, but the story and dramatic elements take the front row sit here. The last 15 minutes of the film has little to no action and it still is the best part.

    This is a wuxia style film and Jet Li is one of the main actors, but this is not a martial arts movie. All the action comes in the form of armies clashing in Lord of the Ring style battles. There is nothing really spectacular about them, unless you are a fan of these types of things.

    The acting is quite good. Jet Li and Andy Lau pull off the leads, while Takeshi Kaneshiro and Jinglei Xu take the major supporting roles. Jinglei's acting is good, but her character is just a little bland. The story does a nice job at swaying the characters. At one moment you are cheering for Jet Li and the next you are pulling for Andy Lau. You never really feel that there is a true villain in this film.

    This may not be an epic action adventure, but the second half of the story is enough for you to watch this film.
  • aliyanto
    March 31, 2008
    aliyanto
    This classic partly remake is impressive and provoke human's depravity!

View All Warlords (Tau ming chong) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Tom Long
July 1, 2010
Tom Long, Detroit News

Doesn't break ground; in fact, it carries on a tradition. But it does so with both flair and passion. Full Review

Colin Covert
April 29, 2010
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

The film has the dirty-fingernails realism of a Peckinpah western, and the same remorseless pessimism about the ultimate fate of men who live near death. Full Review

Steven Rea
April 15, 2010
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

A tale of noble brotherhood compromised by self-interest and a messy love triangle, The Warlords, ultimately, tries to speak to the futility of war - but it does so by staging one gargantuan dustup af... Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
April 9, 2010
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

In The Warlords, war is heaven. In fact, it makes everything else seem tedious by comparison. Full Review

Peter Hartlaub
April 8, 2010
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

The Warlords gets a release in the United States nearly 2 1/2 years after its Hong Kong premiere, and it's a wonder it took so long. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
April 8, 2010
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

How do you make a censor-friendly Chinese movie about government massacres? You turn it into a soap opera. Full Review

Wesley Morris
April 8, 2010
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

It's all lavish, if disposable. But in a nifty change of pace, the warriors in The Warlords are interesting. Full Review

Betsy Sharkey
April 2, 2010
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

It is the rising friction between the blood brothers that holds the story together. The arguments about loyalty and larger missions that tear at their alliance feel both age old and completely current. Full Review

Joe Neumaier
April 2, 2010
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

Fans of action master Jet Li won't be disappointed, even if the opportunities for virtuoso maneuvers by him are few. Full Review

Maggie Lee
April 2, 2010
Maggie Lee, Hollywood Reporter

Although the film is impressive in its physical aspects, the adultery of Pang and his blood brother's wife, Lian (Xu Jinglei), is underdrawn as a sexual skirmish whose influence on events is diminished.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Kingdom of Heaven
    Kingdom of Heaven (60%)
  • Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia (Curse of the Golden Flower)
    Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia (Curse of the... (100%)
  • Red Cliff (Chi Bi)
    Red Cliff (Chi Bi) (80%)
  • Mongol
    Mongol (100%)

More Movies like Warlords (Tau ming chong)

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Warlords (Tau min... : Watch Free on TV

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Warlords (Tau ming chong). Want to create one?

Video Clips

Upload a Video |

All Warlords (Tau ming chong) Videos

Meet Other Fans

Add Warlords (Tau ming chong) to favorites

Recent News

Submit a Story |

View Warlords (Tau ming chong) News

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

aipultertsmith Skin by aipultertsmith
14 Profiles
Add to Profile

More Skins