John Cusack and Jackie Chan battle Adrien Brody in the Dragon Blade trailer

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

I thought it couldn’t get much worse than Nicolas Cage and Hayden Christensen teaming up to battle Chinese warlords in the trailer for OUTCAST. That is until I saw the trailer for DRAGON BLADE which features John Cusack teaming up with Jackie Chan to battle Oscar winner Adrien Brody.

Yeah, there is a whole lot of paycheck cashing going on when you see films like this. Adrien Brody seemed like he still had some fuel in the tank with his funny turn in Wes Anderson‘s THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL but this trailer shows him right back to overacting the hell out of his lines. John Cusack has been a lost cause in my book for quite some time. And Jackie Chan is just doing what he always does.

Set in China during the Han dynasty (206-220 AD), Dragon Blade follows Huo An (Chan), an official framed and enslaved for a crime he didn’t commit. Soon thereafter, however, he meets Roman soldier in Cusack’s Lucius and the pair begin to form an unlikely alliance.

There are not enough words to describe this movie. From the way this is presented, I get the impression this is a big production in China. Some cursory Google searching shows this film was budgeted at $65 million, making it one of the most expensive Chinese films ever made. Set to be released in IMAX 3D theaters next year, DRAGON BLADE will likely not be seen stateside outside of a Redbox or On Demand.

DRAGON BLADE hits theaters in China on February 19, 2015.

“His crime was taking the place in your hearts that belonged to me.”