The Warrior's Way

Imagine a Sergio Leone western with swords. The setting is as sparse as the dialogue but you don't sit through one of his works for the acting or the plot. Warrior's Way is like that. What it lacks is made up in other ways. The choreography is above average, the CGI seamless and the set pieces pure art. And it's all cleverly portrayed, captured and presented. An enjoyable little gem from the genre.

This film has achieved the ultimate goal of montage with all the appropriate ingredients that a motion picture should have done long time ago. The only drawback is Ti Lung's distorted out-of-portion ugly old face. A once so handsome actor who you would never understand how Life could treat him so harshly. The Korean actor, Dong-Gun Jang, is the best choice and cast for this film as he was in the similar Wu Ji (2005) or modern day thriller, U-neun nam-ja (2014), Taegukgi hwinalrimyeo (2004), or Mai wei (2011), an absolutely talented and most serious cool dude from Korea.

'THE WARRIOR'S WAY': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

First time filmmaker Sngmoo Lee writes and directs this martial arts East meets West western fantasy ninja comedy epic. It stars Asian superstar Dong-gun Jang and co-stars Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston, Lung Ti and Tony Cox. The film is very odd and kind of a mess but it's also very beautiful and packed with stylized battle scenes. I have mixed feelings about the film going experience as a whole but there's definitely a lot to like here!

The film is set in the 19th century and tells the story of a ninja assassin named Yang (Jang), who's recently taken over the title of greatest swordsman ever, who's on the run from his clan after refusing to kill a baby, the last member of their enemy. He hides out, with the baby, in a run down town in the American West where a new circus group is starting up. There he befriends an assortment of odd characters including a drunk gunman (Rush) and a beautiful young knives thrower (Bosworth), who he of course develops feelings for. He learns to love his new life until his past tracks him down.

Dong-gun Jang is a fantastic leading man action hero and Lee's directing style is interesting. The supporting cast is all adequate, with Huston and Rush chewing up the scenery (Bosworth, one of my favorites, is a little oddly cast). The film is breathtakingly beautiful at times with a classic epic old film style look to it and there's some great homage played to Sergio Leone of course. The film is a little too all over the place for me though and a tad too goofy. It reminds me in a lot of ways to the type of films Stephen Chow has put out but not quite as good. It is entertaining in a lot of ways though and has at least something pleasing to offer almost any viewer. It's the type of film that most people will either love or hate, unless you're like me. This is the type of movie I can appreciate and enjoy in parts.

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Debutant director and screen writer Sngmoo Lee took a big gamble with this one, as you will see why. In an almost Quintin Tarantino styled narration, the prologue introduces us to Yang (Jang Dong-Gun) and his mission to become 'The World's Greatest Swordsman…Ever'. He does so, within the first five minutes of the movie, by vanquishing an entire enemy clan; all but one…an infant princess. Rather than thrusting his Samurai sword through the toddler, Yang has a change of heart and decides to head West, because sooner or later, his own clan will hunt him down for not finishing the job. Arriving at a desolate town rife with down and out circus freaks, Yang finds work in an old Laundromat. Before long, he befriends 8-Ball, a wise cracking midget (Tony Cox), Ron, a hopeless drunk (Geoffrey Rush) and the sassy knife throwing Lynne (Kate Bosworth). With the infant in safe custody, Yang learns of Ron and Lynne's tragic past. An ex-bank robber, Ron laid down his guns at the wish of his dying wife. Lynne on the other hand, watched her family brutally murdered by an outlaw called 'Colonel'. Even as Yang blends in with the town folk, he realizes that a storm is approaching; a storm dark enough to wipe out the entire town.

Produced by Barrie M Osborne, you would expect this film to have the same grandeur as his previous productions, most notably, THE MATRIX and THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. In fact, the opening sequence is interesting enough to grab your attention. What follows in the middle is a dialogue based drama that has a very theatre production feel to it. However, it's the last 20 minutes that has all the action that we are promised in the beginning. But is it worth the wait? In high definition, close-ups of flying bullets and blood rinsed blades look cool. Ninjas floating in and out of the action add an extra oomph, complemented by an equally engrossing soundtrack. Director Lee was also prudent enough to not leak out the best moments in pre-release trailers. But at the end of it all, if you enjoyed Zack Snyder's carnage in 300, don't go expecting anything better in this film. Sure, one particular scene even has the protagonist slicing and dicing a hoard of endless enemies in a fashion similar to those six-packed Greek warriors, but that's about all the comparison you can make to 300. Lee is generous with scenes of blood splatter towards the end, but manages to keep guts and gore to a minimum. Special effects vary in depth as well as quantity, and so you never get too much or too little of it. Perhaps that has all to do with the pacing of the plot. This is precisely where Lee could have done better. In terms of the pace, what I got was an interesting opening sequence, followed by a slow mid-section, only to be concluded by an intense yet rushed ending. While other critics might support Lee's pacing with "character building", this reviewer is opinionated by the fact that action movies do not deliver a knockout punch if action itself is inconsistently paced.

Playing the titled character, Dong-gun is no Jet Li, nor Jackie Chan; maybe because this is not a kung-fu movie. But what level of acting can you expect from Dong-gun, when he does a lot of the talking with just his facial expressions while relying on some fancy moves to do the rest? Having said that, whoever says Jet Li or Jackie Chan can act must be a really big fan of either or both. Opposite Dong-gun is Kate Bosworth in a role that easily outdoes her Lois Lane from SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006). Vibrant, cheeky, and energetic, this has to be one of Bosworth's best performances to date. Then there is Geoffrey Rush of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN fame. Although given little screen time, Rush does steal some of Dong-gun's miserly thunder and plays a key role towards the end. Also worth mentioning is Danny Huston as (one) of the bad guys, while ironically also offering some of the film's lighter moments.

So there you have it. THE WARRIOR'S WAY has its moments, good and bad, watchable or otherwise. If you overlook the slow pace in-between (during what seems like forever) and the lead actor's lack of emotion or enthusiasm (he is an assassin anyway), then Sngmoo Lee could be given the benefit of the doubt for an otherwise decent action flick, inclusive of some exceptional cinematography.

Never ceases to amaze me how a movie can move an audience in polar opposite ways. It's probably the expectations - so if you go in to have some escapist fun, action and swordplay, you won't be disappointed.

So, why will I be happy to rewatch this grossly underrated movie that's avoided me for the first four years of its life tsk tsk: a simple story combining the Seven Samurai and Silas Marner (kinda), intoxicating mix of humor, gorgeous grotesqueness and visual splendour . . . and a love story that did not force itself on the surreal action thread.

One of the hallmarks of a good film has to be how much love a writer director puts into the details and in this, it is clear Lee Sngmoo has nurtured this baby for a while: superb production, lovely setups and payoffs.

Oh, make my decade and give us a sequel already!

Amazing for a first time director. Bravo! Bravo!