Huo An (Jackie Chan) is the captain of the Silk Road Protection Squad. He seeks to keep the peace on the Silk Road in the 1st Century AD. However, he and his squad are falsely accused of assisting smugglers and exiled to the Wild Geese Gate. He has hardly arrived when a Roman Legion marches toward the city. Huo An rides out to confront the leader, General Lucius (John Cusack). The two fight to a stand still but Huo An offers sanctuary for the Romans at the Wild Geese Gate. It turns out that Lucius has fled the Roman Empire in order to protect Publius, a child who is the usurped heir. Publius's elder brother Tiberius (Adrian Brody) has brought an immense army to kill his errant brother and also seize control of the Silk Road.
The movie is ludicrous. There was no historical advisor. The Roman tactics have nothing to do with how Roman soldiers fought. Unit cohesion is non-existent. The Roman armor is the wrong. The boy who played Publius looked only marginally more Roman than Jackie Chan does. The script is rubbish. There are far too many of the cornball Asian movie tropes included in a movie that is meant to be serious. The plot is needlessly overcomplicated. The acting is mediocre at best. Many of the lines that the characters have to deliver are awkward or silly. Most importantly, there was no Dragon Blade or anything that in anyway explains the title.
I like Jackie Chan and John Cusack but they can't save this turkey. Avoid this movie.
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