''God of War'' (Chinese: 蕩宼風雲) is a 2017 Chinese historical war film directed by

Gordon Chan Gordon Chan Kar-Seung (), born in 1960, is a Hong Kong film director, writer and producer. His most notable works include ''Beast Cops'', ''Fist of Legend'', ''Painted Skin'', '' 2000 AD'' and '' Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen''. I ...

and starring

Vincent Zhao Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo (born 10 April 1972), sometimes credited as Vincent Chiu or Chiu Man-cheuk, is a Chinese actor and martial artist. Zhao is best known for playing the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung in the '' Once Upon a Time in China'' film ...

Sammo Hung Sammo Hung Kam-bo ( zh, t=洪金寶, j=Hung4 Gam1-bou2; born 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and Film director, director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a fight choreog ...

, and

Yasuaki Kurata is a Japanese martial artist and actor, best known for his work in Hong Kong action films. He holds dan ranks in Karate (7th degree), Judo (3rd degree), and Aikido (2nd degree). Biography Kurata was born and raised in Sakura-mura, Niihari Dis ...

. It was released in the United States in Mandarin and Japanese with English subtitles on June 2, 2017. The plot is based on general

Qi Jiguang Qi Jiguang (, November 12, 1528 – January 17, 1588), courtesy name Yuanjing, art names Nantang and Mengzhu, posthumous name Wuyi, was a Chinese military general and writer of the Ming dynasty. He is best known for leading the defense on the ...

's suppression of the ''

wokou ''Wokou'' (; Japanese: ''Wakō''; Korean: 왜구 ''Waegu''), which literally translates to "Japanese pirates" or "dwarf pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 16th century.Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

Plot

In 16th century China, a force of Imperial Ming soldiers under the command of General

Yu Dayou Yu Dayou (1503–1579), courtesy name Zhifu, art name Xujiang, was a Chinese general and martial artist best known for countering the ''wokou'' pirates along China's southeastern coast during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the Ming dynasty. ...

(Sammo Hung) assault a fortress held by Japanese pirates (''

wokou ''Wokou'' (; Japanese: ''Wakō''; Korean: 왜구 ''Waegu''), which literally translates to "Japanese pirates" or "dwarf pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 16th century.Qi Jiguang Qi Jiguang (, November 12, 1528 – January 17, 1588), courtesy name Yuanjing, art names Nantang and Mengzhu, posthumous name Wuyi, was a Chinese military general and writer of the Ming dynasty. He is best known for leading the defense on the ...

(Vincent Zhao), who begins recruiting hardened villagers to build a new army. General Qi launches a successful sneak assault on the Japanese fortress, forcing them to retreat. Despite this, General Qi is nearly arrested for failing to capture the Japanese and is even accused of colluding with them. The Japanese later divide their forces in three and plan to attack three different targets, with Kumasawa's army attacking Xinhe and Taizhou simultaneously and the ronin attacking Ninghai. Taizhou is the provincial capital, while Xinhe holds General Qi's soldiers' families, including Qi's wife. Commander Kumasawa believes that by attacking three targets they will overextend the Ming defenses, while his ward, young Lord Imagawa, believes they should simply launch one massive assault against Taizhou. General Qi learns of the planned attacks and decides to intercept the ronin, defeating them before returning to Taizhou to defend the provincial capital despite knowing this will leave his wife in Xinhe nearly defenseless. Nonetheless, General Qi's wife rallies the soldiers' families to form an impromptu defense, desperately holding off the samurai. At Taizhou, General Qi is nearly overwhelmed and defeated when Lord Imagawa defies Commander Kumasawa to attack Qi with the surviving ronin. However, last minute reinforcements allow General Qi to decisively defeat the Japanese, forcing them to flee back to their vessels. General Qi then rushes back to Xinhe, successfully relieving the city from the Japanese forces. Determined not to allow the Japanese to escape, Qi and his forces attack the Japanese as they are loading onto their ships. Commander Kumasawa sends Lord Imagawa to safety before making a last stand, personally dueling General Qi before being defeated and committing suicide. The film ends with General Qi's wife waiting for her husband, going inside of their home as she waits for his arrival.

Cast

* Vincent Wenzhuo Zhao as General

as General

as Commander Kumasawa (熊澤司令官, ''Kumazawa shirei-kan'') *

Regina Wan Wan Qian (, born 14 May 1982), also known as Regina Wan, is a Chinese actress and singer. She won Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 2014 Taiwanese film ''Paradise in Service'' and the Beijing College Student Film Festival fo ...

as Lady Qi *

Keisuke Koide is a Japanese actor who starred in Kwak Jae-yong's film ''Cyborg She'' and in ''Koizora''. Career In 2017, Koide admitted to drinking alcohol and having sex with a 17-year-old girl after allegations were published in ''Friday''. He was suspend ...

as Lord Yamagawa (山川卿, ''Yamakawa kyō'') *

Jiang Luxia Jiang Luxia (; born 25 December 1986) is a Chinese actress and martial artist. In 2018, she won the Best Supporting Actress in Hundred Flowers Award for her role as "Tong Li, the Female Machine Gunner" in the movie ''Operation Red Sea''. The fi ...

as He Ying

Awards and nominations

References

External links

God of War at boxofficemojo.com
*
God of War at Rottentomatoes.com

RogerEbert.com - Review of God of War
{{Authority control 2017 films Films directed by Gordon Chan 2010s Mandarin-language films Chinese action adventure films War adventure films Films set in 16th-century Ming dynasty Japan in non-Japanese culture