The Emperor's Sword Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

The Emperor's Sword Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 8, 2021

Well Go USA is continuing its partnership with its streaming service Hi-Yah!, offering what are in essence modern day versions of "made for television" offerings. These are intentionally designed to appeal to a niche audience, and as such may not be the kind of large scale entertainments to attract wide viewership, despite fitful attempts to give some of them a supposed "epic" underpinning. The Emperor's Sword tells a pretty hoary tale of a magical sword which has been separated into two pieces, with immense power being granted to whomever is able to reassemble the weapon. Of course there are villains wanting to make that very thing happen, but a plucky little girl is standing in their way. Guess who prevails?

Both a supposed point of view delivered via some opening narration as well as an arguably overly "arty" approach to the visuals are probably blatant attempts to set The Emperor's Sword apart from similar quasi-mythical tales supposedly ripped from the headlines of history (in this case, the founding of the Qin Dynasty). And the film actually offers some interest in the form of a young girl named Meng Xue (Hao Yilin) who is on a mission but who is therefore not so coincidentally being threatened by all manner of villains, in a plot point that rather curiously mimics an older film I just reviewed, Yokai Monsters: Along with Ghosts. In this case there are no yōkai to aid in her quest, but instead a septet known as The Seven Gentlemen.

The Emperor's Sword is patently derivative not just in a number of plot points and actual set pieces, but also stylistically, with a bunch of careening camera moves and segues into and out of slow motion that will recall any number of other films, not necessarily limited to wuxia outings. For what was probably such a minimally budgeted effort, though, the production values are decent, with the possible exception of intermittently shoddy looking CGI.

The Emperor's Sword Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Emperor's Sword is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. There's virtually no technical information that I could find online about this film (the IMDb doesn't even have a full cast and crew listing yet), and while the closing credits do offer rather lengthy picture in picture displays of the film being shot and then rendered in post, I couldn't make out any camera makes or models. One way or the other, this is a competent digital capture that I assume was finished at 2K. There are passing moments when what I assume is supposed to be digital grain has been added, but the bulk of the presentation offers the sleek clarity that is more associated with this technology. The opening 13 minutes or so are almost sepia toned, a stylistic choice which recurs later for other relatively long lasting sequences, but detail levels are only minimally affected. In the more brightly lit outdoor moments in particular, the palette pops very well and fine detail levels tend to be excellent (look for example at the burlap like material in the first screenshot I've uploaded to accompany this review). The CGI is kind of a mixed bag, though even in its best moments it's probably not up to "summer blockbuster" standards, as probably befits the film's relatively paltry budget. My score is 4.25.

The Emperor's Sword Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Emperor's Sword features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in the original Mandarin. Again for what was probably a minimally budgeted DTV offering, the sound design features at least intermittent immersion, including things like clear panning (which would have sounded even better in Atmos) when flurries of arrows fly overhead. Some of the action set pieces also offer good engagement of the side and rear channels. Some of the scoring choices in this film struck me as on the odd side, but the score itself resides quite comfortably in the surrounds and adds a spacious quality to several scenes. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Emperor's Sword Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer (HD; 1:38)

Note: As tends to be the case with Well Go USA Blu-ray releases, the the disc has been authored to automatically move on to trailers for other Well Go USA releases after the trailer for this film plays. Those trailers for other Well Go USA releases also play automatically at disc boot up.

The Emperor's Sword Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are a number of plot points and stylistic choices that I'm sure some fans of Asian film in particular are going to see as blatant ripoffs, but with that understanding The Emperor's Sword , while resolutely unambitious, manages to deliver a decent (if awfully familiar) story with some (awfully familiar) camera flourishes. Technical merits are generally solid for those who may be considering making a purchase.