Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Dynasty Warriors’ on Netflix, Where Noble Chinese Fighters Face Down a Han Dynasty Foe

Based on a popular video game series, Dynasty Warriors (Netflix) is a period action epic that sets up a fight for the soul of the Han Empire. Full of exciting visuals, Dynasty is less thrilling when it’s tasked with dramatically fleshing out the introductory story cards of its source material. But there’s enough swordplay, high-flying wushu, and stomping melee fights to keep things moving along. 

DYNASTY WARRIORS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: A subtitle emerges. “The legend of ‘unrivaled warriors’ predates the history of Huaxia,” it explains, establishing a time and place beyond the realm of Chinese national origin. It’s in these ancient times that the battles of Dynasty Warriors occur, a time when the Han Empire is in decline and riven with internal dispute. Into that power vacuum rides the brutish field general Dong Zhuo (Suet Lam), and he consolidates military power while taking as his hostage Liu Bian, the child emperor. The Han Dynasty is in crisis mode, its court functionairies and flunkie provincial officials unable to go against Dong Zhu, and the citizens are left in the lurch as warlords rise throughout the region, left free to establish their own power centers in the absence of a strong central authority. Three independent warriors — Liu Bei (Tony Yo-ning Yang), Guan Yu (Geng Han), and Zhang Fei (Justin Cheung) — use their formidable skills to aid Dong Zhuo’s troops in a battle against warlord Zhang Jiao (Phillip Keung), believing they’re supporting the true colors of the Han empire. But they soon realize their error and flee to the countryside, newly dedicated to bringing down Dong and restoring the emperor to the throne.

Liu, Guan, and Zhang aren’t alone in this fight. While Cao Cao (Kai Wang) was once a member of Dong Zhuo’s kangaroo court, he pledged to kill the interloper but was thwarted in his attempt at an assassination. Now, Cao is raising a rebel army composed of the strongest warlord hordes. He’s driven by his goal to kill Dong Zhuo, blinded by it. “Since I can’t right my wrong, let me be wrong until the end.” And even amongst the braggadocio and macho armor-beating of the warlords, Cao Cao recognizes the three independents as his best, most powerful allies.

With the armies of each side jockeying for position across a wide chasm defended by a fortress and drawbridge at Hulao Pass, a showdown emerges between Liu, Guan, Zhang on one side and Dong Zhuo’s legendary war chief on the other. He’s Lu Bu (Louis Koo), and he wields both strategic military genius and a six-foot magic halberd. The fight for dynastic control and the fate of the nation itself comes down to a battle between these unrivaled warriors.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Dynasty Warriors director Roy Chow debuted in 2014 with Rise of the Legend, a crackling good kung fu period actioner that foreshadowed his flair for the sweeping cinematography, wire work fight sequences and historical material that embodies Dynasty Warriors. Are epic battles your thing? See also Rurouni Kenshin: The Final. And for more imperial court intrigue and wire work fighting, check out The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity.

Performance Worth Watching: As Guan Yu, Geng Han is every bit the valiant warrior. “You’re a nobody,” a king badass Dong associate named Hua Xiong tells him through sneering lips crossed with scars. “I didn’t expect you to be good. It’s a shame you’re about to be decapitated.” Guan brushes off the taunt with a sweep of his queue beard. “In the face of a weaker opponent, I usually let him win three rounds first. Now those three rounds are over!”

Memorable Dialogue: “You were all fated to come here,” says the Master of the Sword Castle (Carina Lau) to the heroic trio. “I create legendary weapons customized for each warrior. They’re all made with thousand-year-old blood-drinking rocks. The more opponents they kill, the stronger the weapons become.” Blood-drinking rocks? That’s subtle. But these magic-infused swords and staffs will come in handy when Liu, Guan, and Zhang are facing the Han legion, not to mention Lu.

Sex and Skin: Nothing here. Dong Zhuo paws drunkenly at the royal harem.

Our Take: Dynasty Warriors is based on the video game series of the same name, a platform full of mano a mano confrontations utilizing various armor systems, period weapons, and fight tactics, so it makes a lot of sense when the film spends a ton of time setting up its series of Red Rover Come Over takedowns. The warlord alliance keeps sending in boastful battlers to face the bestial Hua Xiong, and he keeps lofting severed heads into their cave bound lair. Hua is Dong’s third-best fighter; if the alliance can’t vanquish him, there’s no way they’re getting to the final boss. While it opens with a suitably vast battle sequence, armies on the field hacking and slashing at each other as cavalry mounts plow through the more unfortunate conscripts, Dynasty bogs down in its center, hampered by establishing the tenuous scene at Dong Zhuo’s court, its three central heroes’ journey, and the separate route Cao Cao takes to become the leader of the resistance.

But while there’s often more talk than action, Dynasty never falters from exquisite costume design, epic wide shots of the North China Plain rift basin, and nice character cutaways for each of its principals, allowing the actors to conjure their best noble line reads. (Or foul and evil ones, in the case of Dong and his minions.) Cao’s escape from the royal court at Luoyang, for example, takes him and his swift Akhai-Teke horse across the tile rooftops of town and into a vast forest of pine, where he skids his mount beneath a tree in his path before surviving an avalanche. Now that’s an escape! Dynasty has a lot of fun in these character moments, and once it returns to the warrior-versus-warrior setup for its final showdown, engages the magic button to imbue everyone’s weapons with some good ol’ blood-drinking power-ups. It might be closer to video game history than actual history, but Dynasty Warriors ends up being a pretty enjoyable ride.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Dynasty Warriors runs with its video game sourcing to present a number of bad-on-good showdowns, and also levels up to some sweeping period action.

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges

Stream Dynasty Warriors on Netflix