Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield is a prequel of Brotherhood of Blades released three years earlier. However, you don't necessarily need to know the latter to understand the former. Some of the characters and the settings are alike but the story is a different one that even contradicts some elements shown in the first film.

Stylistically, we get a stylish wu xia movie with some conspiracy elements. The characters use arrows, daggers, swords and bare hands and feet to fight and most fight sequences look quite realistic. The opening sequence suffers from heavy CGI effects but the rest of the movie convinces with stunning landscapes and beautiful costumes. The locations are more diversified than in the first film. The conspiracy is similar to the first movie as Imperial Assassin Shen Lian gets caught in a conflict between a group of rebels supporting the emperor's younger brother and the emperor, his eunuch and government officials. Shen Lian tracks down some of the rebels before he decides to save a female painter he sympathizes with. From then on, he tries to cover his actions up and gets progressively involved with the group of rebels. However, he soon realizes that some of his colleagues are two-faced and that he can't trust anyone.

There are only a few minor reasons why I like this second film a little bit less than the first one. First of all, the exaggerated opening sequence doesn't start the movie on a positive note. Secondly, the side characters aren't as intriguing as in the first film. Thirdly, the movie's ending feels rushed and the scene after the credits is a waste of time.

However, if you like dynamic historical fiction cinema, Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield delivers the goods. It's stylish, filled with action, passion and tension and is entertaining from start to finish. Even though you don't need to be familiar with the first film to understand this prequel, I would recommend watching the former first because it's the better movie. If you like it, you can't go wrong with this one either.

Brotherhood of Blades is a very entertaining wu xia movie. It combines dynamic martial arts and sword fights with historical costumes and settings and a dramatic dose of suspense in form of complex conspiracies. The greatest thing about the movie is that its outcome is quite unpredictable. Until the final fifteen minutes, it's not exactly clear who is friend and who is foe. This is a welcome change to Hollywood films featuring a lone wolf protagonist who fights his corrupted superiors. Until the final scene, it remains a mystery who is going to survive or not. Once again, this is a great change from Hollywood movies featuring a protagonist who is going to survive against all odds. This film will keep you on the edge of your seat until its dramatic resolution.

The story revolves around three Imperial Assassins who are charged to eliminate powerful eunuch Wei who has become a nuisance for the young Ming dynasty emperor. However, the leader of the trio decides to spare the eunuch and accepts a bribe instead without telling his colleagues. Back in the capital, the three sworn brothers are both tracked down by the eunuch's numerous followers who want them to take their secret to the grave and by suspicious government officials who realizes something is afoul. As if that weren't enough, they have to face numerous personal challenges. The youngest of the trio has fallen in love with the local pharmacist's daughter, the second assassin wants to buy the freedom of a prostitute who despises him for having participated in killing her family and the oldest assassin is tricked into getting promoted to be under constant surveillance. The trio decides it must flee the capital city in order to save their lives but their enemies give everything to try to prevent their escape.

Aside the fascinating story, the movie convinces with a gloomy and tense atmosphere that brings the dying Ming dynasty back to life. The emotional acting performances are very solid and show three overall sympathetic protagonists with strong moral compasses but quite a few personal weaknesses as well which makes them dynamic and round characters. The fight choreographies are intense and not as exaggerated as one is used to from numerous other wu xia movies. This approach suits the film's more authentic tone.

Brotherhood of Blades might not reinvent the genre but is one of the very best movies of its kind in recent memory. Especially the plot is truly intriguing while the film's atmosphere, settings, acting and choreographies are other positive elements. The movie became such an unexpected success that it spun off a prequel released three years later. If you like Asian cinema, you can't go wrong with Brotherhood of Blades.

This exclusive Japanese release features four songs that were previously released on vinyl for the limited edition of the Will to Power record. The record is sold for about five dollars and features four tracks with a total running time of about three and a half minutes. Arch Enemy were clearly in it for the fun and decided to cover four songs by Swedish hardcore punk band The Shitlickers.

As the band name, song titles and track lengths might suggest, the four tracks are straightforward hardcore punk that invites for violent dancing in concert. The riffs are distorted and fast, the bass guitar sounds like an angry bumblebee and the drums provide more noise than rhythm. The hoarse vocals make me think of a screaming pig and blend in perfectly with the instrumental work. The angry lyrics are short and concise.

What I like about this release is its unpretentiousness. I'm not a big Arch Enemy fan but these violent four tracks are truly enjoyable while they last and made me discover a band I wouldn't ever have heard about. The short release with the cool cover artwork is a great exotic collector's items. To make things even more interesting, Canadian singer Alissa White-Gluz even sings in Swedish in one track. 

This is the kind of album that you should crank up the volume to at four o'clock in the morning to piss off your neighbors. It doesn't have anything to do with metal but this is what makes this vivid release stand out. If you haven't purchased the limited edition of Will to Power and have a weakness for hardcore punk, this release is certainly worth five bucks.

Final rating: 70%

NUR DER HSV hat uber Jahre Fussball auf grottenschlechtem Niveau gespielt und sich mehrfach in extremis gerettet. Damit ist ab heute Schluss. Der Dinosaurier ist erlegt.