God of War (Chinese: 蕩寇風雲) is a 2017 historical war film directed by Gordon Chan and starring Vincent Zhao, Sammo Hung, and Yasuaki Kurata. A co-production between China and Hong Kong, the film is based on general Qi Jiguang's suppression of the wokou pirates during the Ming dynasty.
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Plot
In 16th century China, a force of Imperial Ming soldiers under the command of General Yu Dayou (Sammo Hung) assault a fortress held by Japanese pirates (wokou). The attack is easily repelled and the wokou inflict heavy casualties on the Ming forces. It is revealed that the Wokou are in fact a mixed force of Japanese ronin, disgruntled Han Chinese and a force of samurai under the command of Commander Kumasawa. The samurai have been sent by their daimyo to free an imprisoned Chinese noblemen who had made significant financial contributions to the daimyo.
Following the latest failed assault, the Ming forces receive a new commander, General Qi Jiguang (Vincent Zhao), who begins recruiting hardened villagers to build a new army. General Qi launches a successful sneak assault on the Japanese fortress, forcing them to retreat. Despite this, General Qi is nearly arrested for failing to capture the Japanese and is even accused of colluding with them.
The Japanese later divide their forces in three and plan to attack three different targets, with Kumasawa's army attacking Xinhe and Taizhou simultaneously and the ronin attacking Ninghai. Taizhou is the provincial capital, while Xinhe holds General Qi's soldiers' families, including Qi's wife. Commander Kumasawa believes that by attacking three targets they will overextend the Ming defenses, while his ward, young Lord Imagawa, believes they should simply launch one massive assault against Taizhou.
