Spoilers know Kung Fu.

Old school Fantasia fans know that the festival started as an Asian movie festival. Fantasia comes from the phoneticization of the French “Fan-t-Asia”. That means that it’s time we go back to its roots with one of the most iconic of genres, the martial arts film. Even the most jaded of moviegoers will recognize how this genre shares a common past with the western movies. Let’s saddle up and ride.

Blades of the Guardians (2026) is directed by Yuen Woo-Ping and written by Larry Yang and Su Chao-Bin. A bounty hunter named Dao Ma (Wu Jing) travels from town to town with a young kid, collecting bounties. After turning down an offer from local governor Chang Guiren (Jet Li), his life get complicated and he ends up on the run. He’s offered a task by chieftain Lao Mo (Tony Leung Ka-Fai) to escort the mysterious rebel leader Zhi Shi Lang who hides behind a mask. Dao Ma must now embark on a perilous journey across the desert where he will meet both friends and foes. This includes the likes of another bounty hunter, Shu (Yosh Yu), as well as a mysterious man from Dao Ma’s past whose expertise seems to exceed his own, Di Ting (Nicholas Tse).

This movie will become an instant favorite for adventure lovers everywhere. Yuen Wo-Ping is a long time master of action choreography and he’s got both high production values and a superb cast at his disposal. This is an adaptation of the “Biao Ren” manhua by Xu Xianzhe, and has been described as a “comic book adaptation martial arts blockbuster” that breathes new life into the martial arts genre. I feel compelled to let you know Jet Li does not play a main character, but you will see him in action.

Extremely recommended for martial arts fans and anybody yearning for adventure. This one deserves your time in a big theatre and it’s a strong candidate to add to my personal collection when it becomes available. Indeed worth a watch with all your martial arts fandom buddies. Try not to break anything.

That will do for now.