: Much of the early tension in the film stems from the characters' inability to understand one another, making the subtitles essential for the audience to track the evolving trust between the factions.
: The subtitles are "burned" into the video image. This was common for the theatrical release to handle the various languages spoken.
The subtitles do more than just translate; they serve as a narrative bridge for the film's "Silk Road" setting. The plot follows Huo An (Chan), a commander of the Silk Road Protection Squad, as he forms an unlikely alliance with the Roman general Lucius (Cusack).