It usually is not a particularly reassuring sign when a movies’ name is changed by the distributor. One recent example is s flick recently given its high definition release; ‘Clash Of Empires’. At least this is the title used for this Image Entertainment Blu-ray release. Previously the movie’s theatrical presentation it went by the name ‘The Malay Chronicles: Bloodlines’ although you might have seen it listed as ‘Clash of Empires: The Battle for Asia’. There is as simple explanation for the proliferation of titles afforded this flick. The movie is Malaysian and it is fairly commonplace for a foreign language movie when translations are necessary for distribution in other countries. This may not directly infer and quality issues with the film although there are some to be noted. This is another example of managing your expectations. If you expect a blockbuster epic able to hold its own when going toe to toe with movies of similar themes created here in the States. However, if you are willing to give in to a flick expecting a reasonably strong popcorn movie then you might discover that you can have a good deal of old fashion fun watching this film. I also found a certain undeniable fascination provided by this movie stemming from the inherent cultural differences found in this movie. The sword and sandals epic is such well defined established as a perennial favorite among audiences that watching a movie of such familiar format seen filtered through the prism of an alternate culture is something exceptionally interesting from a cinematic and sociological vantage point. This is not to diminish the entertainment quotient at the expense of a more didactic slant; it is possible to enjoy a film that also exposures you to another perspective. Considering this is a story about the imperial conquest of Asia it makes sense to make as movie not only on that ancient continent but with a cast and crew that represents the culture involved. Action movies are fairly universal, explosions, and epic battles can readily rise above the constraints of language so that this genre is ideally suited for migration to another language. When this is combined with the greatly improved resolution to the video and solidity of the perceived soundstage you have a movie that is highly reminiscent of the action movies that played such an important part of our matinee movie theater experience.

It is the middle of the first century of the Common Era and the Roman Empire has been steadily expanding into Asia under the direction of Emperor Hadrianus Augustus, better remembered through the ages simply as Hadrian. He was sufficiently astute in politics to realize there are other ways to conquer a country besides the implantation of war craft. One way is to secure alliances through strategically motivated marriages. In this story Hadrian seeks fashion such a coalition by merging the powerful families of Roman and the Han Dynasty. Representing the Roman side of the equation is the princely Marcus Carprenius (Gavin Stenhouse) who is to be wed to the Asian Princess Meng Li Hua (Jing Lusi) of the Han Dynasty. The one significant roadblock to this plan is the adamant reluctance of both parties to subject the control of their intimate lives to governmental control. Much of the story revolves around the critical peninsula of Goa crucially located on the border between the two empires. Blown off course by a serve storm a sizable portion of the Roman fleet makes landfall there. Prominent among the citizens there is Merong Mahawangsa (Stephen Rahman-Hughes), who is purportedly a direct descendant of Alexander the Great. He is prepared to settle a problem with rival nobleman, Sunder (Ravi Sunderlingam), with a duel to the death over an affair Sunder had with Merong’s sister, Yasodharā (Deborah Henry… not the one from ‘Blondie’). Entering into the political fray is Chinese Admiral Liu Yun (Craig Robert Fong).he is pulled into a plot that involves the admiral of the Roman fleet Lycius (Eric Karl Henrik Norman). The plot is overly complicated at least in comparison with the traditional America sword and sandals flick. A significant portion of this is a result of the need to branch out to encompass several additional action variations. These come in the guise of the standard pirate movie that itself pulls in the plot frequent supernatural plot device of occult magic.

Admittedly, there is a lot going on in this over crowed screenplay by writer/director Yusry Kru but he makes considerable strides to redeem himself with a quickly paced production. There is a particularly heavy onus on his visual decisions since this is the first export from the Malaysian film community to make it to a Blu-ray release on our shores. This also had the ancillary benefit of giving him a greater than usual budget to work with albeit nowhere close to what ‘big budget’ means in Hollywood. Since the story line is more involved than typically found in an action flick Kru compensates by streamlining the exposition leading to a nicely laid out flow of plot points and character introductions. This is played off a more elaborate use of computer generated effects than you might expect from Malaysia. They are actually well done and a notch what would be seen on one of those Saturday night original flicks on the SyFy Channel. This is expertly blended with well choreographed live action to produce and enjoyable action flick. The bottom line here is don’t be mislead by preconceptions, sit back and have some fun.