Sun Honglei plays Sun Bin as a doofish manchild who only takes on a grave demeanor after betrayal and degradation have turned things a tad more serious. Also likely dramatized is the film's portrayal of Sun Bin as comically eccentric. The film supposes how Sun Bin's work might have been lost, and features as crucial events two of Sun's greatest triumphs, the Battle of Guiling and the Battle of Maling. Historically, Sun Bin is known for writing his own handbook on warfare, appropriately called Sun Bin's Art of War, which was lost for over 2000 years before being rediscovered in the 1970s. The Warring States detours from actual history for obvious dramatic purposes. Who will gain Sun Bin's services, Qi or Wei? And given Sun Bin's sometimes moronic behavior, will the winner end up regretting it? However, unlike the honorable Qi, the Wei are not above using underhanded methods to ensure Sun Bin's cooperation. A disciple of the legendary Sun Tzu, Sun Bin reputedly knows more than Pang Juan (Francis Ng), Wei's leading military strategist and also Sun Bin's sworn brother. The two kingdoms square off privately to retain Sun Bin in hopes that his knowledge of warfare will allow domination when they eventually meet on the battlefield.
Director Jin Chen helms this commercial affair about historical figure Sun Bin (Sun Honglei), a renowned strategist who becomes the focus of an underground war between the Qi and Wei Kingdoms. The Warring States gets points for trying to be a straightforward and entertaining costume epic, though it loses just as many for its average storytelling, small-screen direction and inconsistent performances. Possibly better as small-screen rather than big-screen fare. Given the glut of similar productions in recent years, Warring States disappoints. Jing Tian, Francis Ng Chun-Yu, Kim Hee-Sun, Kiichi Nakai, Jiang Wu, Guo Degang, Feng Enhe, Ma Jingwu, Lei Kesheng, Wu Jun, Xu Jiao, Hao Hao, Sun Hao, Huang Haiting, Waise LeeĪverage costume epic that's helped and hurt by a bewildering turn from Sun Honglei. From left to right: Jiang Wu, Kiichi Nakai, Jing Tian, Sun Honglei, Kim Hee-Sun and Francis Ng.
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