Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Marvel's Spider-Man Secret Lair promotional image

    Get a Look At the Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man Superdrop

    09/08/2025
    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions gameplay still

    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions Is All About Adventure (with Friends)

    09/08/2025
    Chord in Persona 5 The Phantom X

    Now Is The Perfect Time To Jump Back In ‘Persona 5: The Phantom X’

    09/05/2025
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘Hidden Blade’ Is A Beautiful, Sometimes Confusing Thrill

REVIEW: ‘Hidden Blade’ Is A Beautiful, Sometimes Confusing Thrill

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez02/25/20234 Mins ReadUpdated:02/28/2023
HIdden Blade — But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

HIdden Blade — But Why Tho

Directed and written by Chang Er, Hidden Blade is a hard-hitting spy thriller that constantly pushes its audiences. Hidden Blade brings audiences into a web of espionage and survival. During World War II, at the height of China’s war of resistance against Japan, a group of courageous citizens develop a top-secret underground espionage network right under the nose of the newly established puppet regime. At increasingly great peril to their own lives, the double agents masterfully extract classified information from deep behind enemy lines. This effort gives rise to the united front that will help turn the tide of the conflict.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Hidden Blade hits every note an espionage thriller needs. The characters are compelling, the setting is grand, and the objective of our heroes is one the viewer can’t root against. But by trying to showcase such an intricate system, the film stumbles in its pacing. The vignettes it uses to tell the story aren’t tied in place by a linear narrative. This sometimes causes confusion, especially as the sequencing choices dampen the emotional resonance of certain betrayals in the film.

That said, the film uses the vignettes to cause the confusion intentionally. It wants to flip where you put your trust at any given time and create a foundation of sand to sink into. But even with its self-aware choice to sew confusion, it leaves emotional holes in the story that aren’t fulfilled in the end. Despite that, there are two elements that keep you engaged even if the story begins to twist too sharply: the acting and the stunning visual language.

Tony Leung and Wang YiBo are showstopping. They’re emotional and hardened and do an extraordinary amount of storytelling through the silence in their performances as much as through dialogue. In direct opposition to each other, the film circles around each, showcasing every choice they make and order they give, culminating in a fantastic third act made possible only by how strong the two actors are when they collide. YiBo is undeniably menacing, a force that pulls you in with his attractiveness and charisma only to slit your throat. Leung is the empathetic thread throughout the film and continues to showcase why he has become a legend in cinema.

Visually, you won’t find a spy thriller more beautiful than Hidden Blade. Understanding how to use both wide-frame landscape shots, often with flags or landmarks dominating the frame, and tight close-ups, director Chang and cinematographer Ni Liao have crafted a stunning film. But the sets and cinematography are only one component. The visual beauty is also executed to perfection thanks to costumes that capture the elegant and the enchanting as much as the murderous and unthinkable.

When the film needs to be breathtaking in its visuals it succeeds, with some of the best cinematography I’ve seen. But it also succeeds when it needs to turn your stomach. In fact, there are more than a couple of scenes that are hard to watch. One scene in particulate shows the brutality of war against civilians as workers are drowned in cement. It’s a moment that is never cut away from. Instead, you see the bodies buried in it in excruciating detail. You have to witness the atrocity and Er refuses to allow you the comfort of cutting away. While the scenes are shot superbly, I found myself trying to turn away, but held there by the deft hands of Er and Liao.

Hidden Blade is a film that attempts to shock its audience, drilling home how terrifying and heartbreaking war is. It pushes you not to turn away from atrocities and pulls at your emotions every chance it gets. That said, while espionage and fighting back against oppressing forces is never just a linear action, Hidden Blade twists the story too many times that it begins to buckle under itself. As revelations happen over time, each new development gets lost in the last and muddied. That said, the visual beauty of the film and its performances make it well worth a trip to the theater.

Hidden Blade is playing now in select theaters.

Hidden Blade
  • 7/10
    Rating - 7/10
7/10

TL;DR

Hidden Blade is a film that attempts to shock its audience, drilling home how terrifying and heartbreaking war is. That said, while espionage and fighting back against oppressing forces is never just a linear action, Hidden Blade twists the story too many times that it begins to buckle under itself.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Buddy Daddies,’ Episode 8 – “Nothing Seek, Nothing Find”
Next Article REVIEW: ‘The Consultant’ is Genre-Blending Chaos
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

09/11/2025
Natasha O’Keeffe in Whitetail
6.5

TIFF 2025: ‘Whitetail’ Is An Intimate View Of A Woman Stuck In Time

09/10/2025
Love Brooklyn
6.0

REVIEW: ‘Love, Brooklyn’ Rests on Pretty

09/10/2025
Park Jeong-min in The Ugly
7.0

TIFF 2025: ‘The Ugly’ Is A Harsh Exercise In Self-Reflection

09/09/2025
No Other Choice
9.0

TIFF 2025: ‘No Other Choice’ Delivers a Bleak Vision of Capitalism

09/09/2025
Molly Lewis in Whistle
8.0

TIFF 2025: ‘Whistle’ Is A Breath Of Fresh Air

09/07/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

By Kate Sánchez09/11/2025Updated:09/11/2025

The Long Walk is a brutal watch. Equally heartfelt and heartbreaking, it’s one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s work.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

EA Sports FC Icons Match promotional image from Nexon News

2025 Icons Match Returns With Football Legends Bridging The Pitch And Video Games

By Kate Sánchez09/03/2025Updated:09/03/2025

NEXON has announced the return of the ‘2025 Icons Match,’ a live event that brings a full roster of legendary players to the pitch.

Gojo Jujutsu Kaisen - But Why Tho (2) Features

Everything To Know About Satoru Gojo

By Kate Sánchez09/07/2023Updated:02/16/2025

Satoru Gojo is the heart of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 — now, heading into Cour 2, here is everything you need to know about the character.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here