WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.160 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are looking 00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:07.299 at a cultural artifact that on paper sounds like 00:00:07.299 --> 00:00:09.500 the result of a fever dream. It really does. 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:12.419 Or, you know, maybe a high stakes game of Mad 00:00:12.419 --> 00:00:14.980 Libs. played by Hollywood executives and Chinese 00:00:14.980 --> 00:00:17.960 investors during a particularly wild lunch meeting. 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:20.039 That's a perfect way to put it. It's one of those 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:22.480 projects where the elevator pitch alone must 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:25.000 have been like five minutes of pure confusion, 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:28.199 followed by a frantic, wait, really? Exactly. 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:30.780 Picture this. It is the Han Dynasty in China. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:35.500 You have the Gobi Desert, vast, unforgiving, 00:00:35.579 --> 00:00:38.100 ancient. Right. And in the middle of this desert, 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:41.869 you have martial arts legend Jackie Chan. Okay, 00:00:41.929 --> 00:00:44.229 standard territory so far. But standing across 00:00:44.229 --> 00:00:46.890 from him is John Cusack. In Roman armor. Wearing 00:00:46.890 --> 00:00:49.710 Roman armor. And lurking in the background is 00:00:49.710 --> 00:00:52.530 the big bad, Adrian Brody. It's just one of the 00:00:52.530 --> 00:00:56.189 most unusual casting lineups in recent action 00:00:56.189 --> 00:00:57.530 movie history. It's the kind of thing where you 00:00:57.530 --> 00:00:59.090 have to double check the poster to make sure 00:00:59.090 --> 00:01:00.689 your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. They're 00:01:00.689 --> 00:01:03.810 not. You expect Jackie Chan. You absolutely do 00:01:03.810 --> 00:01:06.250 not expect the guy from High Fidelity and say 00:01:06.250 --> 00:01:09.790 anything to be commanding a Roman legion. We 00:01:09.790 --> 00:01:12.129 are talking, of course, about the 2015 historical 00:01:12.129 --> 00:01:15.390 action epic, Dragon Blade. And honestly, I've 00:01:15.390 --> 00:01:18.109 been dying to unpack this one because it isn't 00:01:18.109 --> 00:01:21.799 just a movie. It is a massive... collision of 00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:24.579 worlds. A huge one. We've got a $65 million budget. 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:26.939 We've got Roman legions fighting Chinese protection 00:01:26.939 --> 00:01:29.920 squads. And we have a reception history that 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:31.700 is completely split down the middle, depending 00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:33.659 on which side of the planet you live on. It is 00:01:33.659 --> 00:01:35.459 a fascinating case study. I mean, you have this 00:01:35.459 --> 00:01:37.540 massive commercial success in China and then 00:01:37.540 --> 00:01:40.200 this confusing, often critical reception in the 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:42.489 West. Right. But beyond the box office numbers, 00:01:42.650 --> 00:01:45.129 what we really have here is a film that's trying 00:01:45.129 --> 00:01:47.709 to do something very specific culturally. It's 00:01:47.709 --> 00:01:50.329 attempting to blend East and West styles of filmmaking 00:01:50.329 --> 00:01:53.609 while basing its entire narrative on this, this 00:01:53.609 --> 00:01:56.010 sliver of historical speculation that historians 00:01:56.010 --> 00:01:58.829 have been arguing about for decades. Exactly. 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:01.299 And that is our mission today. We're going to 00:02:01.299 --> 00:02:04.819 dig into the source material, specifically the 00:02:04.819 --> 00:02:07.239 detailed breakdown of the film's production, 00:02:07.540 --> 00:02:10.379 its plot, its history, to figure out how this 00:02:10.379 --> 00:02:12.979 movie got made, what it's actually about, and 00:02:12.979 --> 00:02:16.360 the big question, did Roman soldiers really wander 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:18.780 into ancient China? It's a valid question, and 00:02:18.780 --> 00:02:21.740 the answer is, well, it's more complex than a 00:02:21.740 --> 00:02:23.780 simple yes or no, though the movie certainly 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:26.860 picks a lane. So grab your Gladius and your Dow. 00:02:27.129 --> 00:02:29.349 because we're heading to the Silk Road. Let's 00:02:29.349 --> 00:02:31.530 start with the setup, because for a movie with 00:02:31.530 --> 00:02:34.949 such big stars, the premise is surprisingly intricate. 00:02:35.069 --> 00:02:37.490 This isn't just good guys versus bad guys in 00:02:37.490 --> 00:02:39.789 a field. No, it's quite political, actually, 00:02:39.830 --> 00:02:41.629 to start with, which provides a lot of necessary 00:02:41.629 --> 00:02:44.509 context for the era. The year is set during the 00:02:44.509 --> 00:02:47.330 Han Dynasty period, and Jackie Chan plays a character 00:02:47.330 --> 00:02:50.110 named Hua An. Hua An, okay. Now, usually when 00:02:50.110 --> 00:02:52.289 we see Chan in a period piece, he's, you know, 00:02:52.310 --> 00:02:54.569 a general or a rebel, something like that. But 00:02:54.569 --> 00:02:57.610 here he has a very specific, almost bureaucratic 00:02:57.610 --> 00:03:00.310 job title. He is the captain of the Silk Road 00:03:00.310 --> 00:03:02.830 Protection Squad. Silk Road Protection Squad. 00:03:02.870 --> 00:03:04.770 That sounds almost like a modern government agency. 00:03:05.150 --> 00:03:07.349 It does, doesn't it? Or a specialized task force. 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:10.120 you'd seen, like a procedural drama. And it functions 00:03:10.120 --> 00:03:12.960 like one. The source material describes the squad 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:15.800 as a peacekeeping, customs clearing organization 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:18.539 in the western regions. They aren't there to 00:03:18.539 --> 00:03:20.819 conquer territory for the emperor. They are there 00:03:20.819 --> 00:03:23.599 to stop battles between the diverse ethnic groups 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:26.219 in the region. So their mandate is stability, 00:03:26.259 --> 00:03:29.419 not expansion. That's it. So he's basically a 00:03:29.419 --> 00:03:33.979 UN peacekeeper in the year 48 BC. That is a very 00:03:33.979 --> 00:03:37.159 apt comparison. A very apt one. The notes mention 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:40.219 he's stopping fights between Indians and Xiongnu 00:03:40.219 --> 00:03:43.159 warriors. He's a super cop of the ancient desert. 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:45.199 Wow. And this actually connects to something 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:48.080 personal for Jackie Chan. How so? Is this like 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:50.479 reflecting his own philosophy? Very much so. 00:03:51.020 --> 00:03:53.139 The source material highlights that Shan specifically 00:03:53.139 --> 00:03:55.780 wanted to make this film to express a message 00:03:55.780 --> 00:03:58.199 of peace for the world. He's quoted as saying 00:03:58.199 --> 00:04:00.460 he wanted to make a movie called Peace because 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:02.240 of all the conflict he saw in the news at the 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:04.539 time. Okay, that makes a lot of sense then. So 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:06.960 Juan is really an embodiment of that philosophy. 00:04:07.379 --> 00:04:10.180 He creates a buffer zone where trade can happen, 00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:12.740 where different cultures can exist without killing 00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:15.719 each other. He fights, but only to stop others 00:04:15.719 --> 00:04:18.600 from fighting. Which is a noble goal. But... 00:04:18.970 --> 00:04:21.129 As is tradition in these kinds of action movies, 00:04:21.389 --> 00:04:24.769 no good deed goes unpunished. Never. You can't 00:04:24.769 --> 00:04:27.470 have a movie about peace without a massive conflict 00:04:27.470 --> 00:04:29.769 to kick it all off. Precisely. And the conflict 00:04:29.769 --> 00:04:32.689 begins internally. The protection squad gets 00:04:32.689 --> 00:04:36.709 framed. They find gold coins, bribes hidden inside 00:04:36.709 --> 00:04:38.769 the corpses of enemies they had neutralized. 00:04:38.990 --> 00:04:41.290 That's a gruesome place to hide money. It is. 00:04:41.410 --> 00:04:43.930 Also. Incredibly unsanitary. It's effective, 00:04:44.089 --> 00:04:45.670 though. It looks like corruption coming from 00:04:45.670 --> 00:04:47.810 within the ranks. I mean, the optics are terrible 00:04:47.810 --> 00:04:50.829 for a squad that claims to be neutral. So Juan 00:04:50.829 --> 00:04:53.649 and his entire squad are stripped of their rank. 00:04:53.769 --> 00:04:55.970 And this is the inciting incident that moves 00:04:55.970 --> 00:04:57.910 us to the main location of the song. Exactly. 00:04:57.949 --> 00:05:00.189 They aren't executed, but they are sentenced 00:05:00.189 --> 00:05:02.610 to hard labor at a place called the Wild Geese 00:05:02.610 --> 00:05:05.329 Gate. Which is described as a ruined fortress 00:05:05.329 --> 00:05:08.600 on the fringe of the western regions. It's a 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:11.259 miserable place. You've got prisoners, peasants, 00:05:11.259 --> 00:05:14.279 and nomads all forced to rebuild this fort under 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:16.720 a Turkic commander who isn't exactly friendly. 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:19.500 A real melting pot of misery. Dust and forced 00:05:19.500 --> 00:05:22.100 labor. That's the vibe. So there they are, hauling 00:05:22.100 --> 00:05:24.180 stones, rebuilding walls, probably thinking their 00:05:24.180 --> 00:05:27.060 lives are over. And then, looking out over the 00:05:27.060 --> 00:05:31.230 horizon, they see a dust cloud. Yep. And in a 00:05:31.230 --> 00:05:33.910 movie like this, a dust cloud never means good 00:05:33.910 --> 00:05:36.290 news. Enter the Romans. This is the moment the 00:05:36.290 --> 00:05:38.970 trailer is built around. A Roman legion, battered 00:05:38.970 --> 00:05:41.730 and exhausted, shows up at the gate in the middle 00:05:41.730 --> 00:05:44.709 of China. And leading him is General Lucius, 00:05:44.730 --> 00:05:47.050 led by John Cusack. Now, in the film's logic, 00:05:47.170 --> 00:05:49.529 this is a highly tense moment. Yeah. The commander 00:05:49.529 --> 00:05:51.430 of the wild geese gate tries to stop them and 00:05:51.430 --> 00:05:53.569 fails. His arrows probably bounce right off the 00:05:53.569 --> 00:05:55.569 shields. Sure. The Romans are disciplined, they 00:05:55.569 --> 00:05:57.810 are desperate, and they are superior in formation. 00:05:58.689 --> 00:06:02.019 So, who on? even though he's a prisoner, rides 00:06:02.019 --> 00:06:04.220 out to duel Lucius. And I love the detail here. 00:06:04.339 --> 00:06:07.019 It's Jackie Chan versus John Cusack, East versus 00:06:07.019 --> 00:06:10.259 West, the G .N. Sword versus the Gladius. It's 00:06:10.259 --> 00:06:12.839 the matchup you never knew you needed. They fight, 00:06:12.939 --> 00:06:15.160 but the source notes it ends in a stalemate. 00:06:15.319 --> 00:06:19.699 Why? Is it just to show they are equals? Partly 00:06:19.699 --> 00:06:21.699 that, but there is an environmental factor. A 00:06:21.699 --> 00:06:24.290 massive sandstorm is coming. But that's not the 00:06:24.290 --> 00:06:26.769 only reason the fight stops. This is where we 00:06:26.769 --> 00:06:29.050 see that character trait of Juan we mentioned 00:06:29.050 --> 00:06:31.649 earlier, the peacemaker. Okay. He notices something 00:06:31.649 --> 00:06:33.649 about the Roman troops during the fight. They 00:06:33.649 --> 00:06:36.269 aren't just an invasion force. They're starving. 00:06:36.649 --> 00:06:39.269 Starving. And they're carrying a little boy, 00:06:39.430 --> 00:06:42.509 a blind boy named Publius. Right. This is the 00:06:42.509 --> 00:06:45.310 humanizing moment. Publius is actually the youngest 00:06:45.310 --> 00:06:48.439 son of Marcus Licinius Crassus. A very famous 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:51.120 historical Roman figure known for his immense 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:54.339 wealth and his disastrous military campaigns. 00:06:54.600 --> 00:06:57.939 Right. So Huon sees the child, sees the exhaustion 00:06:57.939 --> 00:07:00.279 in the soldier's eyes, and decides to let them 00:07:00.279 --> 00:07:02.600 into the fortress to take shelter. Defying the 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:04.720 orders of the fortress commander, I should add. 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:07.420 It's a classic enemy of my enemy is my friend, 00:07:07.500 --> 00:07:11.019 or rather, humanity before politics moment. This 00:07:11.019 --> 00:07:12.839 kicks off what I think is the most wholesome 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:15.660 and perhaps the most Jackie Chan. Part of the 00:07:15.660 --> 00:07:18.180 movie. We move into segment two, which I'm calling 00:07:18.180 --> 00:07:21.920 Building Bridges. Literally. Because literally, 00:07:22.060 --> 00:07:24.019 that's what they do. They fix the fort. It is 00:07:24.019 --> 00:07:26.579 a full -on cross -cultural exchange montage. 00:07:26.939 --> 00:07:30.180 The Romans are inside, they recover, and the 00:07:30.180 --> 00:07:32.560 next day they see the Chinese workers struggling 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:35.040 to rebuild the fortress walls. And the Chinese 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:38.699 methods are not great. The film portrays them 00:07:38.699 --> 00:07:42.100 as slow, perhaps a bit outdated in this specific 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:44.560 region, or maybe just disorganized due to the 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:47.279 prison setting. So Lucius steps up. The Romans 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:49.339 break out their superior engineering skills. 00:07:49.540 --> 00:07:52.000 They start showing the locals how to lay bricks, 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:54.480 use pulleys, build fortifications the Roman way. 00:07:54.620 --> 00:07:56.639 It's highly symbolic. You have these two great 00:07:56.639 --> 00:07:59.439 empires, Han China and Rome, collaborating on 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:02.139 infrastructure. The source mentions this boosts 00:08:02.139 --> 00:08:04.160 morale and happiness among all the inhabitants. 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:06.240 It's suggesting that if we just put down our 00:08:06.240 --> 00:08:08.959 weapons and picked up our trowels, we could build 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:11.100 something amazing. Infrastructure as diplomacy. 00:08:11.500 --> 00:08:14.000 And it cements the friendship between Juan and 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:16.910 Lucius. They go from enemies to bros. There are 00:08:16.910 --> 00:08:19.069 scenes of them drinking together, training together. 00:08:19.230 --> 00:08:21.829 Yeah, that whole sequence. Juan even sends some 00:08:21.829 --> 00:08:25.009 of his men to help Lucius's envoys contact the 00:08:25.009 --> 00:08:28.129 Parthian Empire. It's this great guys being dudes 00:08:28.129 --> 00:08:31.470 moment, but on a geopolitical scale. And Juan 00:08:31.470 --> 00:08:34.230 is even made an honorary centurion by the little 00:08:34.230 --> 00:08:38.090 boy Publius. That's a huge deal. It implies a 00:08:38.090 --> 00:08:41.049 deep level of trust. Being named a centurion 00:08:41.049 --> 00:08:44.409 by a Roman noble is no small gesture. It signifies 00:08:44.409 --> 00:08:47.549 that Juan is seen as an equal in honor and capability. 00:08:47.870 --> 00:08:51.269 But as we know, this peace can't last. We have 00:08:51.269 --> 00:08:53.409 to find out why a Roman legion is wandering around 00:08:53.409 --> 00:08:55.370 the Gobi Desert. They're not on a sightseeing 00:08:55.370 --> 00:08:57.230 tour. Right, they didn't just take a wrong turn 00:08:57.230 --> 00:08:59.629 at Turkey. Unpack the backstory for us. Who are 00:08:59.629 --> 00:09:01.610 they running from? They are fleeing Tiberias. 00:09:01.750 --> 00:09:03.809 Played by Adrian Brody. And let's be honest. 00:09:04.190 --> 00:09:06.409 Adrian Brody's making choices in this movie. 00:09:06.529 --> 00:09:09.450 He certainly is. In the context of this film, 00:09:09.529 --> 00:09:12.110 Tiberius is painted as an absolute monster. He's 00:09:12.110 --> 00:09:15.350 a ruthless Roman consul. The film alleges he 00:09:15.350 --> 00:09:18.490 murdered his own father, Crassus. His own father. 00:09:18.690 --> 00:09:22.669 Yes. And blinded his younger brother, Publius, 00:09:22.690 --> 00:09:25.110 and is now marching on the Silk Road with 100 00:09:25.110 --> 00:09:28.230 ,000 soldiers. Talk about family drama. He killed 00:09:28.230 --> 00:09:31.289 his dad and blinded his little brother. That 00:09:31.289 --> 00:09:34.200 is Shakespearean villainy. That's cartoonishly 00:09:34.200 --> 00:09:36.419 evil. It establishes the stakes perfectly, though. 00:09:36.659 --> 00:09:38.679 Lucius isn't just a deserter. He's a protector 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:40.940 trying to save the rightful heir from a usurper. 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:43.440 So it makes the Romans sympathetic figures rather 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:47.379 than imperialist invaders. Exactly. And now that 00:09:47.379 --> 00:09:50.360 threat has arrived at Huan's doorstep. So we 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:52.259 have the setup. We have the friendship. Now we 00:09:52.259 --> 00:09:54.659 need the tragedy. And Dragonblade apparently 00:09:54.659 --> 00:09:57.590 does not pull its punches here. I was surprised 00:09:57.590 --> 00:09:59.990 by how dark the synopsis gets after the fun -building 00:09:59.990 --> 00:10:03.169 montage. It takes a very sharp, very dark turn. 00:10:03.470 --> 00:10:05.730 This brings us to the climax of the film. Juan 00:10:05.730 --> 00:10:08.710 analyzes Tiberius as a threat to the entire Silk 00:10:08.710 --> 00:10:11.509 Road, not just the Romans. So he leaves to get 00:10:11.509 --> 00:10:13.850 reinforcements, thinking he can rally the other 00:10:13.850 --> 00:10:16.529 nations. But while he's gone. Yeah. Betrayal. 00:10:16.889 --> 00:10:20.049 Because of course. It turns out Juan's second 00:10:20.049 --> 00:10:21.889 -in -command was the one who framed the squad 00:10:21.889 --> 00:10:24.330 in the beginning. He wants to be the commanding 00:10:24.330 --> 00:10:26.889 prefect, so he cuts a deal with Tiberius. He 00:10:26.889 --> 00:10:29.309 sells out his own people for a promotion. And 00:10:29.309 --> 00:10:31.870 this leads to an attack on the home front. And 00:10:31.870 --> 00:10:34.590 this part sounds devastating. Quo An's wife, 00:10:34.769 --> 00:10:38.009 she king. She's a schoolteacher for orphans. 00:10:38.129 --> 00:10:40.250 Yes, she's like the moral center of the film. 00:10:40.570 --> 00:10:43.889 The source describes her as a gentle woman. When 00:10:43.889 --> 00:10:46.230 the traitor sends soldiers to attack, she tries 00:10:46.230 --> 00:10:48.620 to save the children under her care. And she's 00:10:48.620 --> 00:10:51.340 mortally wounded in the process. She is. And 00:10:51.340 --> 00:10:54.200 her dying wish is for Juan to protect the orphans. 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:57.299 That is heavy. It shifts the movie from a fun 00:10:57.299 --> 00:11:00.440 historical romp into a revenge tragedy. And it 00:11:00.440 --> 00:11:02.440 gets worse for the Romans, doesn't it? Much worse 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:04.460 from the sounds of it. Much worse. Lucius is 00:11:04.460 --> 00:11:06.700 betrayed and captured. He's taken to the city 00:11:06.700 --> 00:11:09.019 of Curon where Tiberius is camped. And the film 00:11:09.019 --> 00:11:11.759 commits to the villainy of Tiberius here. He 00:11:11.759 --> 00:11:14.399 forces the blind boy Publius to commit suicide. 00:11:14.779 --> 00:11:16.919 Whoa, okay. That is incredibly bleak. They killed 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:19.850 the kid. They did. It destroys any possibility 00:11:19.850 --> 00:11:22.629 of redemption for the villain. And Lucius is 00:11:22.629 --> 00:11:26.049 brutally tortured. When Huan finally breaks into 00:11:26.049 --> 00:11:28.649 the cell to rescue him, it's too late. He's just 00:11:28.649 --> 00:11:32.049 broken. Burnt, broken, and too damaged to escape. 00:11:32.330 --> 00:11:34.450 This is the emotional peak the outline mentions. 00:11:35.049 --> 00:11:38.659 Lucius begs Huan to kill him. to end his suffering. 00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:41.419 And Juan, the man of peace, the man whose entire 00:11:41.419 --> 00:11:44.299 creed is about saving lives, has to tearfully 00:11:44.299 --> 00:11:47.379 agree. He performs a mercy killing on his friend. 00:11:47.720 --> 00:11:50.000 It's a pivotal moment for the character. Sometimes 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:52.159 the only way to save someone from pain is to 00:11:52.159 --> 00:11:54.720 let them go. That sets the stage for the final 00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:57.139 showdown. You've got Juan grieving his wife and 00:11:57.139 --> 00:11:59.240 his friend. You've got the remaining Romans who 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:01.379 have lost their general and their prince. And 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:03.929 you've got... A massive army of bad guys. The 00:12:03.929 --> 00:12:06.730 final battle is described as overwhelming. Huan 00:12:06.730 --> 00:12:09.730 and the Romans are outnumbered. But then we get 00:12:09.730 --> 00:12:12.690 the cavalry arrives moment. Ah, the classic trope. 00:12:12.870 --> 00:12:15.210 Nomadic hordes, the people Huan had befriended 00:12:15.210 --> 00:12:17.330 earlier in the film, the Indians, the Xiongnu, 00:12:17.450 --> 00:12:20.129 they all join the fight. It's the Avengers assemble 00:12:20.129 --> 00:12:23.389 moment of the Silk Road. All the tribes uniting 00:12:23.389 --> 00:12:25.629 against the tyrant. But even that isn't enough, 00:12:25.730 --> 00:12:28.090 right? The source says they still suffer heavy 00:12:28.090 --> 00:12:31.490 casualties. Correct. It's not an easy win. The 00:12:31.490 --> 00:12:33.970 Shianu warriors, the wild geese gate commander, 00:12:34.330 --> 00:12:37.350 many of them fall. It looks like they are going 00:12:37.350 --> 00:12:40.409 to lose. But the true turning point comes from 00:12:40.409 --> 00:12:43.529 the west. A Parthian army arrives. These are 00:12:43.529 --> 00:12:45.409 the guys Lucius' envoys were trying to reach 00:12:45.409 --> 00:12:48.529 earlier. The very same. The actual empire that 00:12:48.529 --> 00:12:50.970 killed Crassus in real history. Exactly. But 00:12:50.970 --> 00:12:52.970 in the movie, they are there to avenge Crassus. 00:12:53.049 --> 00:12:55.769 Remember, Tiberius killed him and restore peace 00:12:55.769 --> 00:12:58.570 between Rome and Parthia. They turn the tide. 00:12:58.769 --> 00:13:01.690 So Tiberius realizes he's lost. He does. His 00:13:01.690 --> 00:13:03.529 generals, seeing the Parthians and realizing 00:13:03.529 --> 00:13:06.029 Tiberius is a usurper, tell him to surrender. 00:13:06.230 --> 00:13:08.850 But does Adrian Brody surrender? I don't think 00:13:08.850 --> 00:13:10.830 so. That's not how you play a villain like this. 00:13:10.950 --> 00:13:13.529 He refuses. He fights a duel with Juan, and in 00:13:13.529 --> 00:13:16.230 the end, Juan kills Tiberius. So the villain 00:13:16.230 --> 00:13:19.269 is dead, the battle is won, but the cost was 00:13:19.269 --> 00:13:22.210 massive. Which leads us to the resolution, the 00:13:22.210 --> 00:13:25.379 aftermath. The Chinese emperor is impressed by 00:13:25.379 --> 00:13:28.500 the bravery of these Roman survivors. He grants 00:13:28.500 --> 00:13:30.879 them the right to establish their own city. And 00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:35.299 they name it Regum, or in Chinese, Lichen. Which 00:13:35.299 --> 00:13:38.240 translates to something resembling legion. This 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:40.220 is the key connection the movie is trying to 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:42.139 make. It's the whole point. The survivors of 00:13:42.139 --> 00:13:44.399 the Wild Geese Gate join the protection squad, 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:47.840 and they move a shrine to this new city to honor 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:51.220 the fallen, specifically Lucius. But then, and 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:53.080 this is one of those things that I find so fascinating 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:55.480 about this movie, it doesn't just end there. 00:13:55.659 --> 00:13:58.320 We get a time jump. A massive time jump. Thousands 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:01.240 of years. We cut to the present day. Archaeologists. 00:14:01.539 --> 00:14:04.320 They are uncovering the ruins of this city. They 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:06.620 stumble upon the site. And the source mentions 00:14:06.620 --> 00:14:09.580 they learn of its tragic history via 3D reconstruction. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:12.120 Wait, via 3D reconstruction? Like they have a 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:14.120 hologram machine or something? The source isn't 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:16.360 specific on the technology, but it implies a 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:19.379 high -tech visualization of the past. Upon seeing 00:14:19.379 --> 00:14:21.759 this reconstruction of the history, the bravery, 00:14:21.980 --> 00:14:24.960 the sacrifice, the archaeologists decide to leave 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:27.299 the site undisturbed. They let Reckham rest in 00:14:27.299 --> 00:14:29.559 peace. They do. It's a very sentimental way to 00:14:29.559 --> 00:14:32.039 frame the story. It's telling the audience, this 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:35.009 is real history you just watched. It frames the 00:14:35.009 --> 00:14:37.570 entire movie as a ghost story that we've just 00:14:37.570 --> 00:14:40.429 witnessed. Which is a bold claim considering, 00:14:40.590 --> 00:14:43.090 well, we'll get to the history in a moment. But 00:14:43.090 --> 00:14:44.750 first we have to talk about how this thing was 00:14:44.750 --> 00:14:46.789 actually made. Because the production context 00:14:46.789 --> 00:14:49.309 explains a lot about the film's scale and its 00:14:49.309 --> 00:14:51.309 quirks. Oh, absolutely. This wasn't some indie 00:14:51.309 --> 00:14:53.750 project shot in a backyard. This was a juggernaut. 00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:57.120 A beast of a production. U .S. $65 million budget. 00:14:57.220 --> 00:14:59.779 That's huge for a non -Hollywood production in 00:14:59.779 --> 00:15:02.580 2015. It was financed by a consortium including 00:15:02.580 --> 00:15:05.820 Sparkle Roll, Hawaii Brothers, and Tencent. At 00:15:05.820 --> 00:15:07.840 the time, this was a record -breaking budget 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:10.720 for a Chinese -financed movie. They were swinging 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:12.419 for the fences, trying to prove they could make 00:15:12.419 --> 00:15:14.519 a blockbuster that looked and felt as big as 00:15:14.519 --> 00:15:16.840 anything coming out of Los Angeles. And they 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:19.700 filmed it in the real -deal locations. The Gobi 00:15:19.700 --> 00:15:23.879 Desert. Dunhuang. This wasn't all sound stages. 00:15:24.139 --> 00:15:27.419 No. And the conditions were reportedly grueling. 00:15:27.419 --> 00:15:30.279 Right. Extreme heat, sand getting into everything, 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:33.700 heavy costumes. You can just imagine John Cusack 00:15:33.700 --> 00:15:36.399 and Adrian Brody in full Roman regalia armor, 00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:39.240 capes, heavy leather, sweating it out in the 00:15:39.240 --> 00:15:41.840 Gobi Desert. Oh, man. That adds a layer of realism 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:44.299 or perhaps exhaustion you can't get on a green 00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:46.559 screen. And the release strategy was aggressive. 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:49.679 They dropped this movie on February 19, 2015. 00:15:49.879 --> 00:15:52.320 Which is the first day of the Chinese New Year. 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:55.679 That is the prime slot. It's like releasing a 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:58.559 movie on Christmas Day in the U .S., but bigger. 00:15:59.309 --> 00:16:01.509 It's the time when families go to the cinema 00:16:01.509 --> 00:16:04.450 together. And in IMAX 3D. Maximizing the ticket 00:16:04.450 --> 00:16:06.789 price and the spectacle. I noticed in the notes 00:16:06.789 --> 00:16:09.230 that the U .S. release was a bit different. Lionsgate 00:16:09.230 --> 00:16:11.350 premiere picked it up later in September, but 00:16:11.350 --> 00:16:13.309 they took some scissors to it. They did. The 00:16:13.309 --> 00:16:16.850 original runtime was 127 minutes. The U .S. version 00:16:16.850 --> 00:16:20.230 was cut down to 103 minutes. That's nearly 25 00:16:20.230 --> 00:16:23.409 minutes of footage gone. 24 minutes. 24 minutes. 00:16:23.450 --> 00:16:26.169 That's an entire act of a movie. That's a massive 00:16:26.169 --> 00:16:28.870 amount of content. It is, and usually those cuts 00:16:28.870 --> 00:16:30.509 come at the expense of character development 00:16:30.509 --> 00:16:33.129 and pacing, which might explain some of the reception 00:16:33.129 --> 00:16:36.460 issues in the West. If you remove the bonding 00:16:36.460 --> 00:16:39.080 scenes, the building bridges moments, the slow 00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:41.860 conversations between Keysak and Chan. The ending 00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:44.480 tragedy feels less earned. Exactly. It becomes 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:46.879 just an action movie rather than a character 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:48.720 drama. Well, let's talk about that reception 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:51.360 because this is truly a tale of two markets. 00:16:51.580 --> 00:16:55.019 The divide is stark. It really is. In China, 00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:57.759 Dragon Blade was a monster hit. Opening day, 00:16:57.960 --> 00:17:02.419 $18 .7 million. Opening weekend. $33 million. 00:17:02.700 --> 00:17:05.220 It topped the box office. In total, it earned 00:17:05.220 --> 00:17:08.779 over $120 million in China alone. By financial 00:17:08.779 --> 00:17:12.059 standards, this was a massive success. It validated 00:17:12.059 --> 00:17:14.460 Jackie Chan's pivot to these grand historical 00:17:14.460 --> 00:17:16.960 epics. It showed that the Chinese audience was 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:19.460 hungry for this kind of East meets West spectacle, 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:21.740 seeing their own history intertwined with the 00:17:21.740 --> 00:17:24.420 great Roman Empire. For sure. But then we look 00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:27.019 at the Western critics. And oh boy, it's like 00:17:27.019 --> 00:17:28.779 they watched a completely different film. A different 00:17:28.779 --> 00:17:31.299 story entirely. On Rotten Tomatoes, it sits at 00:17:31.299 --> 00:17:34.180 a 36 % approval rating. The phrases used are 00:17:34.180 --> 00:17:37.900 pretty brutal. Hot mess, dull story, choppy editing. 00:17:38.420 --> 00:17:41.220 IGN gave it a 6 out of 10, calling the story 00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:43.980 rubbish, but praising the fight scenes. Classic 00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:47.000 Jackie Chan caveat. The plot makes no sense, 00:17:47.019 --> 00:17:49.640 but look at him go. Movie Exclusive was even 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:52.880 harsher, calling it a spectacular misfire for 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:56.349 Cusack and Brody. There seems to be a disconnect 00:17:56.349 --> 00:17:58.609 where Western critics couldn't get past the tonal 00:17:58.609 --> 00:18:01.009 shifts. You know, Jackie Chan movies often oscillate 00:18:01.009 --> 00:18:03.849 between slapstick, melodrama, and serious action, 00:18:03.910 --> 00:18:06.769 or the editing, which was likely exacerbated 00:18:06.769 --> 00:18:08.630 by that U .S. cut we mentioned. Right, that cut 00:18:08.630 --> 00:18:10.789 is huge. Whereas the spectacle and the sentiment 00:18:10.789 --> 00:18:12.910 resonated much more with the domestic audience 00:18:12.910 --> 00:18:15.589 in China. Although Variety and The Hollywood 00:18:15.589 --> 00:18:18.170 Reporter were a bit nicer. They praised the technical 00:18:18.170 --> 00:18:20.150 details in the battle scene. So it wasn't universally 00:18:20.150 --> 00:18:23.250 hated, just mixed. They appreciated the craft, 00:18:23.410 --> 00:18:25.869 if not the story. There is one other reaction 00:18:25.869 --> 00:18:27.690 we need to mention, which is the Indian media 00:18:27.690 --> 00:18:30.529 response. Right. The source notes this was overwhelmingly 00:18:30.529 --> 00:18:34.490 negative. Yes. The Hindu criticized the lack 00:18:34.490 --> 00:18:37.089 of subtlety, calling the characters cardboard. 00:18:37.690 --> 00:18:39.930 And there were accusations of the film being 00:18:39.930 --> 00:18:43.470 Chinese propaganda. Propaganda? Why? Likely due 00:18:43.470 --> 00:18:45.569 to the portrayal of the Silk Road Protection 00:18:45.569 --> 00:18:48.450 Squad as these benevolent peacekeepers of the 00:18:48.450 --> 00:18:51.789 region, imposing order on the unruly tribes like 00:18:51.789 --> 00:18:54.619 the Indians and Xiongnu. I can see that. Yeah. 00:18:54.740 --> 00:18:57.420 It's interesting how a movie about peace managed 00:18:57.420 --> 00:18:59.640 to annoy so many different groups of critics 00:18:59.640 --> 00:19:01.799 for different reasons. That's the nature of international 00:19:01.799 --> 00:19:04.880 co -production sometimes. Cultural nuances don't 00:19:04.880 --> 00:19:07.420 always translate. What looks like patriotism 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:09.700 and stability in one market looks like propaganda 00:19:09.700 --> 00:19:12.299 and control in another. Okay, we've delayed it 00:19:12.299 --> 00:19:14.339 long enough. We have to address the elephant 00:19:14.339 --> 00:19:16.980 in the room. Or rather, the Roman in the room. 00:19:17.390 --> 00:19:20.450 Is any of this true? Right. Did Romans actually 00:19:20.450 --> 00:19:23.410 fight alongside the Han Dynasty? Because if this 00:19:23.410 --> 00:19:25.650 is real, my history textbook skipped a really 00:19:25.650 --> 00:19:27.750 cool chapter. This is where we get into the historical 00:19:27.750 --> 00:19:30.809 truth segment. The short answer is almost certainly 00:19:30.809 --> 00:19:33.529 not like this, but it's not completely made up 00:19:33.529 --> 00:19:35.690 either. But there is a theory, right? The movie 00:19:35.690 --> 00:19:37.829 didn't just pull this out of thin air. Correct. 00:19:37.910 --> 00:19:40.670 The film relies heavily on a hypothesis proposed 00:19:40.670 --> 00:19:44.509 by a historian named Homer H. Dubs in 1941. Okay, 00:19:44.529 --> 00:19:47.039 let's unpack the Dubs theory. Because it's a 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.619 fun one, even if it's controversial. So go back 00:19:49.619 --> 00:19:54.279 to 53 BC, the Battle of Cara. This was a disastrous 00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:57.140 defeat for Rome against the Parthians. Marcus 00:19:57.140 --> 00:19:59.759 Licinius Crassus, the father of the blind boy 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:01.759 in the movie, was killed there. One of Rome's 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:03.940 worst days. Definitely. And the theory goes, 00:20:04.180 --> 00:20:07.279 what? That some of the prisoners escaped the 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:10.029 Parthians. Dubs speculated that Roman prisoners 00:20:10.029 --> 00:20:12.930 of war were moved by the Parthians to their eastern 00:20:12.930 --> 00:20:16.029 border to serve as border guards, basically mercenaries. 00:20:16.230 --> 00:20:18.109 And eventually these men might have clashed with 00:20:18.109 --> 00:20:20.329 Han troops or even defected to China to escape 00:20:20.329 --> 00:20:22.410 their Parthian captors. And the evidence for 00:20:22.410 --> 00:20:25.029 this is the town name. That's a big part of it, 00:20:25.089 --> 00:20:28.150 yes. There is a town named Likin in Gansu province. 00:20:28.750 --> 00:20:31.509 Dubs argued that Likin sounds like legion and 00:20:31.509 --> 00:20:34.029 therefore it was founded by Roman legionaries. 00:20:34.069 --> 00:20:36.190 That feels like a stretch. Likin sounds like 00:20:36.190 --> 00:20:38.920 legion. That's the smoking gun. Well, Dubs tried 00:20:38.920 --> 00:20:41.599 to connect a few other dots. There were historical 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:44.519 records of a specific military formation used 00:20:44.519 --> 00:20:47.119 by foreign troops in a battle around that time 00:20:47.119 --> 00:20:49.579 that looked like a fish scale formation. Okay. 00:20:49.819 --> 00:20:52.799 Dubs interpreted this as the Roman testudo or 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:55.079 tortoise formation where soldiers lock shields 00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:57.500 over their heads. Okay. That's a bit more compelling. 00:20:57.660 --> 00:21:00.390 Fish scales, tortoise shells. I can see the visual 00:21:00.390 --> 00:21:03.329 link. And there have been claims of local villagers 00:21:03.329 --> 00:21:06.450 in that region having Caucasian features, green 00:21:06.450 --> 00:21:10.349 eyes, lighter hair, aquiline noses. This has 00:21:10.349 --> 00:21:12.890 fueled the local tourism industry significantly. 00:21:13.009 --> 00:21:16.289 But does that hold up to modern science? Not 00:21:16.289 --> 00:21:18.569 really. Genetic testing has been done, and while 00:21:18.569 --> 00:21:20.809 it shows some mixed ancestry, the results have 00:21:20.809 --> 00:21:23.589 been inconclusive or attributed to other Silk 00:21:23.589 --> 00:21:25.509 Road travelers. You have to remember the Silk 00:21:25.509 --> 00:21:27.849 Road was a highway for jeans as well as silk. 00:21:28.029 --> 00:21:30.230 So people from all over were there. Sogdians, 00:21:30.430 --> 00:21:33.150 Persians, Turks, they were mixing there for centuries. 00:21:33.589 --> 00:21:36.349 The expert consensus today is pretty clear. Most 00:21:36.349 --> 00:21:38.329 historians do not accept the dub's theory as 00:21:38.329 --> 00:21:41.049 fact. So no lost legion building fortresses with 00:21:41.049 --> 00:21:43.589 Jackie Chan. Archaeological evidence is lacking. 00:21:44.049 --> 00:21:46.990 No Roman armor. No coins found in the specific 00:21:46.990 --> 00:21:49.289 context that would prove a legion was there. 00:21:49.789 --> 00:21:52.289 The first undisputed contact between Rome and 00:21:52.289 --> 00:21:55.170 China didn't happen until much later, 161 A .D. 00:21:55.470 --> 00:21:58.490 That was an embassy sent by Emperor Antoninus 00:21:58.490 --> 00:22:01.490 Pius or Marcus Aurelius. So Dragon and Blade 00:22:01.490 --> 00:22:04.089 is basically taking a very loose what if scenario 00:22:04.089 --> 00:22:07.849 and turning it into a definitive historical blockbuster. 00:22:08.109 --> 00:22:10.230 Precisely. It takes a footnote of speculation 00:22:10.230 --> 00:22:13.089 and builds an entire city named Ragam out of 00:22:13.089 --> 00:22:15.670 it. It prioritizes the myth over the math of 00:22:15.670 --> 00:22:17.670 history. It's creating a legend. But you know 00:22:17.670 --> 00:22:19.809 what? Even if it's fake, it's such a a cool concept. 00:22:19.930 --> 00:22:22.450 The idea that these two ancient superpowers touched 00:22:22.450 --> 00:22:24.750 fingertips in the desert. It is, and it serves 00:22:24.750 --> 00:22:27.210 a narrative purpose. So, bringing this all together, 00:22:27.410 --> 00:22:29.849 Dragon Blade is a weird beast. It's a massive 00:22:29.849 --> 00:22:32.410 hit in China, a critical flop in the West. It 00:22:32.410 --> 00:22:34.410 stars three major actors who feel like they're 00:22:34.410 --> 00:22:36.609 in different movies. They really do. Kan is doing 00:22:36.609 --> 00:22:38.970 a noble epic, Cusack is doing a solemn drama, 00:22:39.150 --> 00:22:42.730 and Brody is doing something very intense. And 00:22:42.730 --> 00:22:45.410 yet... It represents something significant. It's 00:22:45.410 --> 00:22:47.650 an attempt to bridge the gap between Hollywood 00:22:47.650 --> 00:22:50.329 storytelling and Chinese blockbuster filmmaking. 00:22:50.890 --> 00:22:54.890 It's messy, yes, but it's ambitious. It's trying 00:22:54.890 --> 00:22:57.410 to say that these two cultures, which often view 00:22:57.410 --> 00:23:00.029 each other with suspicion, have a shared history 00:23:00.029 --> 00:23:02.789 of cooperation, even if they have to invent a 00:23:02.789 --> 00:23:04.650 little bit of it to make the point. It's definitely 00:23:04.650 --> 00:23:07.390 not boring. If you want to see John Cusack teaching 00:23:07.390 --> 00:23:10.910 Roman engineering to Han Dynasty laborers, well... 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:13.519 Adrian Brody chews the scenery so hard there's 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:17.329 no set left. This is your movie. And it leaves 00:23:17.329 --> 00:23:19.710 us with a provocative thought. Even if the history 00:23:19.710 --> 00:23:22.349 is debunked, why does the idea of a lost legion 00:23:22.349 --> 00:23:25.569 in China fascinate us so much? Why do we keep 00:23:25.569 --> 00:23:27.710 coming back to this specific theory? Yeah, why 00:23:27.710 --> 00:23:29.609 do we want this to be true? I think it speaks 00:23:29.609 --> 00:23:32.509 to a desire to find ancient connections in a 00:23:32.509 --> 00:23:35.009 globalized world. We want to believe that even 00:23:35.009 --> 00:23:37.430 2 ,000 years ago, East and West weren't just 00:23:37.430 --> 00:23:39.589 isolated islands. We want to believe they met, 00:23:39.710 --> 00:23:42.910 they fought, and maybe... Just maybe they understood 00:23:42.910 --> 00:23:45.049 each other. Even if we have to invent the story 00:23:45.049 --> 00:23:47.589 to make it happen. We want validation that globalization 00:23:47.589 --> 00:23:50.750 isn't new. That is a great point. We want the 00:23:50.750 --> 00:23:53.089 world to be smaller than it was. We want to find 00:23:53.089 --> 00:23:55.410 that shared DNA. Exactly. It makes the world 00:23:55.410 --> 00:23:58.349 feel more connected. Well, if you have a chance, 00:23:58.490 --> 00:24:01.069 look up the images of the Roman armor fighting 00:24:01.069 --> 00:24:05.509 alongside Han armor. Historical accuracy aside, 00:24:05.750 --> 00:24:08.910 it looks incredible. Yeah. That's wrap on Dragonblade. 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:10.920 Thanks for joining us on this trip down the Silk 00:24:10.920 --> 00:24:12.619 Road. We'll see you on the next deep dive.