An enjoyable mess with no actual story and no real direction. This is one of the movies that made me feel that Korean cinema struggles to get an identity. It was historical yet felt very hollywood like. This is the type of movie I'd expect from hollywood. Plot was sacrificed very much for action and flashy sword play. It would be great if more time was spent engaging us with the plot versus giving us a flashy display. One of the pros though is the acting as the cast is magnificent however, that also makes you a little annoyed because the script writer and director could have done so much with the compelling cast they had gathered. Cha Seung Won's character plays a rebel who tries to overthrow the current Korean King amidst the invading Japanese army. You can see why evidently there's no plot because why anyone would throw a coup amidst an invading enemy is beyond me. Hence proceeds his quest to now overthrow the king and also battle a freaking invading army. Amidst all this, they actually managed to squeeze some ill-placed romance. Seriously, it has no place whatsoever being in this movie. Then the ending came with an "what exactly was that movie about?" It's aptly named though. It really is about Blades of Blood. After all, lot's of blood but no plot was found in this movie.