By Raymond Mei
Director of The Storm Riders, Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen and the Infernal Affairs trilogy, cinematographer and filmmaker Andrew Lau does it once again with the anticipated, martial arts, action-adventure film The Guillotines. Oi Wah Lam, Yuet-Jan Hui & Ka-Kei Chit, wrote the screenplay. Well Go USA will be releasing The Guillotines in limited US theaters on June 14th.
The Guillotines (2012), an action packed, martial arts film by acclaimed director Andrew Lau features a 21st century twist on traditional martial arts with a combination high-tech computer animated weaponry. Known as the deadliest weapon made by man, the guillotine is a sharp, terrorizing, deadly weapon that brings tremendous fear to the enemies. Only elite fighters utilize this choice of weapon. The Guillotines are among the elites. They are a band of secret brotherhood of assassins, who were once favored by the Yongzheng Emperor now pose a threat under the new regime, the Qing Dynasty. They were forced to a remote village escaping a gang of fighters who carry firearms. The guillotines are challenged to take on both sides by outsmarting and outfighting the enemies. Led by master fighter Leng, the top ranked Guillotine are five young warriors: Musen, Houjia Shisan, Chen Tai, Hutu and Buka. Their objective is to eliminate Tianlang (Wolf) and his Shepherd gang. In the process, the Guillotines are faced with battling a new era of firearms with their cold weapons.
Xiaoming Huang, who plays Tianlang (Wolf), is a Chinese actor, singer, and model. He is best known for his role in television as Yang Guo in The Return of the Condor Heroes (2006) and Xu Wenqiang in Shanghai Bund (2007). His role as Wolf, the mysterious spiritual leader of the Shepherd gang, Wolf dreams of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the past glory of the Han Chinese. With an ever-growing number of followers, he represents an immediate threat to the Emperor and is the region’s most wanted terrorist.
Ethan Juan, is a Taiwanese actor and model. His breaking-out role was his performance in the Taiwanese drama Fated To Love. In 2010, Juan was the recipient of the Best Leading Actor award of the 47th Golden Horse Awards for his role in Monga. His role as Leng in this film as a skillful and experienced fighter shows immense quality of leadership, charisma and composure has won over the trust of his teammates. He represents the heart and soul of the Guillotines.
