Blades of the Guardians: Are China's wuxia films making a comeback?

Epic, adrenaline-fuelled, gory, gritty, heroic and combat-heavy — these are the words that popped in my head when I watched the premiere of Blades of the Guardians, a classic wuxia title set for release in the United Kingdom on April 17. 

The fast-paced, unflinching martial arts drama has grossed around 200 million US dollars since its release in China in February — with hopes the UK market will give it further momentum.

Set in the final years of the Sui dynasty — around 1,400 years ago — the film follows a fugitive tasked with protecting another runaway across one of ancient China's most dangerous landscapes, blending martial arts, honour and justice in a world beyond the law.

Cedric Behrel, co-founder of Trinity CineAsia, which is bringing the film to the UK, told CGTN this could mark a comeback for the genre since its previous heyday culminating in 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, really set out the scene and made the wuxia genre popular around the world outside of China," said Behrel. "However, there haven't been outstanding Wuxia films that really justify being released on the bigger screens, whereas this film does that. So we are very hopeful that all these lingering martial arts fans and Wuxia fans will come out in droves."

Wuxia is a uniquely Chinese genre, with no exact equivalent in the West. The term combines two ideas: wu, meaning martial arts; and xia, referring to a hero guided by a moral code in pursuit of justice.

Wuxia films typically follow skilled fighters navigating a world beyond formal authority — where loyalty, revenge and honour shape every decision.

Modern wuxia storytelling was largely shaped by 20th-century novelists such as Jin Yong and Gu Long.

On screen, the genre — rooted in Hong Kong cinema — saw its golden age from the 1960s to the 1990s, before becoming one of China's most successful film exports in the early 2000s, one of the most notable examples being Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Some of the genre's most recognisable stars include Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Wu Jing, Donnie Yen and Michelle Yeoh.

Wuxia film-making in the age of AI

Wuxia filmmaking demands a careful balance between physical authenticity and cinematic spectacle — making it one of the most challenging genres to produce at scale.

At a time of rapid advances in artificial intelligence, Blades of the Guardians deliberately strips back heavy computer-generated imagery (CGI), placing emphasis instead on raw, physical combat.

Islah Abdur-Rahman, a martial arts performer who attended the premiere, said, unlike many Hollywood productions, the action here feels more grounded.

"You know it's done without holding back, it's done unapologetically and that is the beauty of the art that you want to see on screen. Obviously, it's still an element of being a movie, you know, there's realism and then there's movie," said Abdur-Rahman.

Broader picture

Whether Blades of the Guardians signals a broader revival remains to be seen. But its box office performance suggests there is still appetite for a genre rooted not just in spectacle, but in discipline, philosophy and craft.

In an era increasingly shaped by AI and digital effects, wuxia's enduring appeal may lie precisely in what technology cannot replicate — the weight of real movement, and the timeless pull of stories driven by honour and human struggle.

More broadly, Chinese cinema has been making notable breakthroughs. In 2025, Ne Zha 2 grossed over 2.2 billion US dollars worldwide — a rare case of a culturally rooted Chinese story achieving such a large global impact.  

Yet its success also highlights a structural challenge: Chinese films still rely heavily on domestic audiences for the bulk of their box office revenue.  

For Chinese filmmakers seeking to bring more stories to the global stage, expanding international reach remains a key challenge, and also an opportunity.