''The Warring States '' is a 2011 Chinese film directed by Chen Jin. The story takes place during the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

, but is only very loosely based on the actual history. The plot focuses on the rivalry between military generals

Pang Juan Pang Juan (died 342 BC) was an ancient Chinese military general of the Wei state during the Warring States period. Life Early life Pang Juan was a fellow student of Sun Bin and both of them studied military strategy together under the tutela ...

and

Sun Bin Sun Bin (died 316 BC) was a Chinese general, military strategist, and writer who lived during the Warring States period of Chinese history. A supposed descendant of Sun Tzu, Sun was tutored in military strategy by the hermit Guiguzi. He wa ...

, both disciples of

Guiguzi Guiguzi () is a collection of ancient Chinese texts compiled between the late Warring States period and the end of the Han Dynasty. The work, between 6,000–7,000 Chinese characters, discusses techniques of rhetoric. Although originally associa ...

Cast

Francis Ng Francis Ng Chun-yu (; born 21 December 1961) is a Hong Kong actor and director. He is known for his roles in the TVB series ''Triumph in the Skies'' and in films such as ''Young and Dangerous'', '' Once Upon a Time in Triad Society'', ''A Ma ...

Jing Tian Jing Tian (, born 21 July 1988) is a Chinese actress. She graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy and Beijing Film Academy. She is known for her roles in the war epic '' The Warring States'' (2011) and the action films ''Special ID'' and ''Police ...

as Tian Xi *

Sun Honglei Sun Honglei (; born 16 August 1970) is a Chinese actor. Early life Sun was born in Harbin, Heilongjiang, on 16 August 1970. Sun developed an interest in acting and performances at a young age. He often skipped school to learn breakdancing on the ...

Kim Hee-sun Kim Hee-sun (born June 11, 1977) is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s with leading roles in television series such as ''Men of the Bath House'' (1995), ''Propose'' (1997), ''Wedding Dress'' (1997), ''Forever Yours'' (1998), ' ...

as Pang Fei *

Kiichi Nakai is a Japanese actor. His name was given by Yasujirō Ozu. His father, Keiji Sada, also a movie actor, died when Nakai was only two years old. Nakai started his acting career while he was still in university and was awarded the Rookie of the Ye ...

as King of Qi *

Jiang Wu Jiang Wu (born 4 November 1967) is a Chinese actor. He starred in Zhang Yimou's '' To Live'' (1994), and Zhang Yang's ''Shower'' (1999). He is the younger brother of Jiang Wen and is or was a member of the Beijing Experimental Theatre Troupe. ...

Tian Ji Tian Ji (), courtesy name Qi (齐), was a military general of the Qi state during the early Warring States period (4th century BC) of Chinese history. Tian Ji met Sun Bin and recommended him to King Wei of Qi as a military strategist. Tian Ji co ...

Production

Production for ''The Warring States'' began in March 2010.

Reception

Critical reception

''The Warring States'' has been described as "sweeping" and "melodramatic". It has received mixed reviews from critics, with

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

giving the movie a 40% rating (with an average score of 5.9/10), based on reviews from 5 critics. Mike Hale of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' found it difficult to follow the "compressed, chaotic narrative" without a "familiarity with the byzantine history of China". Hale noted that the film included "huge numbers of arrows, soldiers, dead bodies and palace steps". Robert Abele of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' described the film as "mildly confusing" and "unremarkable" overall, though he praised the "nifty fight sequences, clever bits of wartime subterfuge, scenic outdoor photography and Honglei's quirky charm". Similarly, Brent Simon of ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global film business. ...

'' said the "historical epic" displayed "impressive costume design and much natural scenic beauty", but called it not "particularly persuasive or enrapturing". Nick Schager of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' described the film's opening as "invigorating", but overall "tedious" and "a morass of melodramatic romance, torture, and suicide". Schager praised Sun Honglei's performance as the "film's only truly epic element". Avi Offer of ''NYC Movie Guru'' gave ''The Warring States'' a very positive review. Offer praised the "thrilling war film" for its "exhilarating action sequences", "compelling dramatic scenes", and "exquisite set design, cinematography, musical score and costume design".

Box office

''The Warring States'' earned $11.8 million worldwide. After six days of release, the film reached first place in China's box office chart.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Warring States 2011 films 2010s Mandarin-language films Films set in the Warring States period Chinese historical films Chinese war drama films