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If you were or are a fan of Shaw Brothers eastern movies, the title itself may seem familiar. And while it has been a while since I saw the Guillotines movie they did back then, there are some throwbacks (visually, story and other wise). Having said that, this is an update and it feels like the CGI was made to explore 3D territory. I only watched it in 2D though so I can't say how good it is in 3D, even though as I said you can tell it might work.

There is violence though and there is massive story and a lot of characters. At times it may feel a bit convoluted. There is a lot to digest and not all might be clear at all times. Still visually this is really more than nicely made and the action/stunt sequences are good. If that is what you care most about you will have a good time. A love for B-movies and hero bloodshed also helps ...

The Guillotines was sold as the modern day remake of the classic Master Of The Flying Guillotine!

The original was just fantastic. Action packed with amazing kung fu battles and gritty decapitations from the ultimate weapon.

With Andrew Lau's update, we are given a beautifully made drama, with small stylish fight scenes that focus more (with poor CGI) on how these new versions of the guillotine blades, work!

I think that, once you have accepted that this is in no way a remake of such a classic, and only features a bunch of pretty boys with cool weapons, you can enjoy it more and see it as a historical drama with some fun action sequences.

Worth the watch, just not perfect.

As the summary states, this movie was terrible. It's almost as bad as Choy Lee Fut (2011) but at least this one has some action. But make no mistake, it's bad. The CG is laughable. Dialogue is terrible. None of the characters make you feel for them, which only makes it worse when certain characters are crying for the whole movie. Crybaby assassins?? Almost believable. Seriously, more tears shed than Twilight 2.

Most of the scenes are just ridiculously acted out and shot. They tried to be artistic and emotional but it just comes off as campy. Seemed like it had a decent budget, but a lot went wrong during the production. Who knows.

Anyway, this was just meant to be a warning for those of you who thought to look up a review before spending your hard-earned cash (and time) on a movie. Watch something else. I rarely write these things, mostly as a service to other unsuspecting viewers. This ranks up there with the previously mentioned Choy Lee Fut and Skyline.

Who watched and rated this movie? A bunch of Woody Allen fans? It deserves a better rating than the 4.6 I see today so I must add my two cents. This is a typical kung fu action movie and it delivers kung fu and action. Nothing I haven't seen before but all the stuff I want to keep on seeing. Is there anything that makes it anything more than an average kung fu action movie? No not really, but that still doesn't mean it's a waste of time or something to over criticize. What would have made it better? The running time was too long and there were not enough simple hand to hand or man versus man fights. Other than that, if you are a fan of this genre then ignore the criticism here and watch it.

When the trailers were released, it seemed that The Guillotines will be packed with action with the titular weapon. And with Andrew Lau at helm, what could go wrong? The fact that Andrew wants this to be more of a drama about brothers rather than a guilty pleasure is disappointing. But it is not that bad and this still has some value of entertainment.

The story: The movie starts off with a cool action scene with The Guillotines, a group, using the titular weapons against some 'bad guys'. After that, Wolf escapes from being executed. It leads to another action scene with the briefly appeared titular weapons. However that is all you see for the weapons in action. The Guillotines is tasked to find Wolf. Those waiting to see the weapons appearing again will be disappointed. There is plenty of action but the weapons are not featured in other than the first two action scenes. The climax is a huge disappointment. I thought the climax will the next action scene that will feature the weapons. The climax contains lots of explosions and that is about it. No epic fight scene. Acting wise is okay, not distracting.

Overall: It should not be called The Guillotines. It is one of those misleading title. Without the special titular weapon, this is just an ordinary action drama movie which feels over-long at times. It is not bad but it is a disappointment.