Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert review (2026)

Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert is an amazing, must-see spectacle. Part Lord of the Rings, part Mad Max: Fury Road with a generous heaping of Crouching Tiger: Hidden Dragon, there is something for everyone here easily making for one of 2026’s best films.

The film is a live-action version of Xianzhe Xu’s 2015 manhua (Chinese-language comics), which was also adapted into a popular anime in 2023.

Bounty hunter Dao Ma (Jing Wu, Meg 2: The Trench) travels along the countryside with his orphaned nephew Xiao Qi (Ju Qianlang). After tracking down his latest bounty, Dao Ma gets recruited by Governor Chang (Jet Li) to be his new military instructor. Dao Ma has no interest being under the thumb of another politician and declines heading to another village in search of his next target.

Chang’s men interfere and out the bounty, an acclaimed swordsman, the Double-Headed Snake (Jin Zhang). Guilted into assisting by Xiao Qi, Dao Ma battles alongside the Two-Headed Snake easily dispatching Chang’s men before Chang arrives. Director Yuen Woo-Ping (Iron Monkey) sets the bar for Blades of the Guardians quickly with this fight scene.

The Dao Ma/Double-Headed Snake battle against Chang is so impressive it would be a wholly satisfying final fight in most action movies. With Blades of the Guardians, a fight scene with Jet Li (!!!) is merely a very tasty appetizer.

In the aftermath of that fight, Dao Ma has now been become the hunted as the bounty hunter is now the land’s most wanted criminal. Dao Ma and Xiao Qi find sanctuary in the Mojia Village protected by a group of skilled warriors led by Ayuya (opera singer Lijun Chen). Ayuya wants Dao Ma to take her to Chang’an, but he is leery of going to the large city with a price on his head.

Her father, Chief Mo (Tony Ka Fai Leung), looked out for Dao Ma in the past and now calls in that favor. Mo needs Dao Ma to take the mysterious Zhi Shi Lang (Yi-zhou Sun) to Chang’an. Zhi Shi Lang’s revolutionary views on equality have made him a target for those in power surpassing the bounty placed on Dao Ma.

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Mo also asks Dao Ma to take Ayuya — and her best friend Ani (Xiong Jinyi) — along as well. Although Ayuya is a skilled warrior, Mo wants her far away from He Yixuan (CiSha), a clan leader who is not thrilled that Mo cancelled his plans to marry Ayuya. He Yixuan is an absolute despicable bastard who commits some heinous actions throughout Blades of the Guardians. CiSha leans in with his performance delivering an extra air of pompous privilege to make him truly unlikable.

Early on in their travels, Dao Ma and company encounter the bounty hunter Shu (Yosh Yu), who’s taking his latest bounty, Yan Ziniang (Yunxiao Li) in a carriage. Zhi Shi Lang is not cut out for cross country horseback rides so Dao Ma asks if they can tag along setting up an unlikely alliance of the two bounty hunters as they head to Chang’an.

Naturally, this unlikely party encounters several challenges along the way as various groups come for Zhi Shi Lang. Two mysterious warriors, Diting (Nicholas Tse, Raging Fire) and Kui Zhi (Biying Liang), are also tracking the party but it’s unclear if they’re friend or foe. The film boasts an outstanding ensemble with no weak links in the cast at all. Everyone is dialed in to their character from Wu playing the weary warrior content to stay in the shadows, Yunxiao Li as the playful comic relief and Yu as the calm bounty hunter.

Tse has the presence to be a massive crossover star in America if he chose to. Chen is a revelation. Ayuya has the film’s most important character arc and Chen handles this transition from a naive young girl to an adult warrior wonderfully.

Blades of the Guardians is a fully engaging experience in no small part to the massive, sprawling landscape. The film was shot in the desert regions of western China to fully convey the scope of the journey. The backdrop offers plenty of unique backdrops for the action to play out. Woo-Ping doesn’t need to resort to clogging the screen with CGI to tell the story.

Adding to the mystique and pageantry of Blades of the Guardians are the elaborate costumes. Shu’s outfit translates wonderfully on the big screen with his long white-streaked hair highlighting the red scar over his right eye and flowing white robes.

Zhi Shi Lang also looks striking with his half ghost mask with Sichuan Opera face-painting and long grey robes. Add in Dao Ma’s all-black ensemble and Blades of the Guardians has a stark monochromatic color scheme complemented by Ayuya and Ani’s warmer white, blue and brown outfits and Yan’s red attire.

Visually, the film looks great. What sets Blades of the Guardians on an elite tier is the dazzling action sequences. Beyond the elaborately choreographed swordplay, Woo-Ping stages some jaw-dropping battlegrounds whether in a desert oil field that quickly becomes a flaming battlefield, a flame-engulfed villain and Blades of the Guardians’ epic showcase scene featuring a fight in the sandstorm. There’s little to compare the swordplay, archery and melee fights in this film.

Between The Furious and Blades of the Guardians, action fans are getting spoiled in 2026. This is one of the films that even casual action fans need to make sure they check out what should hopefully just be the first installment of this series.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Photo Credit: Well Go USA

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