Dragon Blade

American actors John Cusack and Adrian Brody joined Jackie Chan in the Chinese production Dragon Blade. The film has already had great success in China, raking in $120 million. That may not seem like much compared to U.S., but considering China’s highest grossing film ever only brought in only $200 million, it has been received very well by Chinese viewers. Dragon Blade will hit U.S. theaters in September of this year.

Dragon Blade is inspired by the story of Roman army, which made its way to China during the time of the Han dynasty, seeking power of the trade route, known as the “Silk Road,” between China and the West. Cusack and Brody play Lucius and Tiberius, two brothers and Roman generals, while Chan takes on the role of Huo An, a Chinese military officer, who leads a resistance against the Roman legion.

While the trailer is entirely in English, featuring only dialogue from the two American actors, the film will be mostly in Mandarin with English subtitles.  This was likely done to gain the interest of the mass market English-speaking movie-goers. Dragon Blade is the most expensive Chinese-language film to date.

Writer and director Daniel Lee captures the brutality and turmoil of the battles fought in Western China. This action packed historical film should be a hit with American audiences as well.