The Dead Lands

This film delivers on the trailer's promise of an out of the box, skull crushing, action epic. It begins as a basic fable, but gains complexity as the story unfolds, all while hitting frequent action beats. The warrior's character in particular is more than a typical anti-hero, having far more of the "anti" than a Hollywood archetype.

I came for stylish brutality and badass fights, and this film delivers on both counts. As a martial arts film fan, I found the use of traditional Mauri weapons a fresh take on the genre. The choreography also holds up to a Hong Kong standard, but with a unique and brutal feel. All in all, it's a very memorable action epic. More than worth your time.

The movie's plot moves along predictable lines i.e a tribe is wiped out by a ruthless clan of another tribe with only the chief's young son who is able to escape. How he takes revenge with the help of a flesh eating giant tribal man living in the Deadlands, forms the story.

What slightly separates the movie from other movies is - it is completely set in the jungles, shows how the tribals fight and and some of the fight sequences are staged well.

What was required was a tight script, bit of mystery and fear and more depth in the characters to make it interesting. In the absence of this, the film becomes sluggish to watch.

Give it a miss.

Due to my current time restraints I'm going to skip the usual intellectually enthusiastic movie exaltation and just cut right to some idiotically strait-forward praise.

This movie was quite an amazing surprise. I didn't expect it to be so good, to the point where I haven't seen an action movie like it in at least a year. And when I use the word "good," it's to symbolize an all-encompassing quality. The depths of the human spirit were represented in the film, clearly and intensely, not considering it's depletion of maybe romance and humor, at it's worst. I found the drama unmatched, and the action and cinematography are extremely inventive. Not to mention: it's the only good Mauri period piece I've ever seen, so I think I might've been waiting a long time for something like this.

A true work of art.

Finally we have the Maori action movie we have all been begging for! If you have ever seen the Haka performed by the All Blacks, and wondered what these guys would do to their enemies without the limitations of Rugby rules, then all your questions will be answered. The plot is a Kung Fu style revenge tale. A young chief's son vows revenge for some tribal treachery, and hooks up with a mystical, wiser warrior, to take out a small army of baddies. Action movie aficionados will be pleased to see some authentic Maori weapons and fighting choreography, instead of the typical blade weapons and the Asian martial arts we see in countless movies these days. The acting is fascinating because you are basically watching actors represent their own culture from an earlier era, unlike let's say, having a Scottish man portray an ancient Greek warrior in a film. The authentic locations add to the overall realistic effect as well. I'm sure there are artistic liberties taken with the historical accuracy, but nothing as crazy as the 300 franchise. The directing is a bit frantic, with quick cuts and lots of camera movements during fight scenes, but that seems to be the visual style for action movies these days. Overall, this film is a fascinating look at a culture that is completely exotic to the rest of the world because of vast geographical distance and centuries of colonial influence.

Pre European Maori built their culture on slavery, cannibalism, genocide and violence while living in the constant fear of war with each others iwi.

This film doesn't hide these facts and is the closest thing to the honest past released from New Zealand.

Many previous films portray Maori as victims of white people when white sailors were often killed and eaten too.

I applaud that finally there's near correct depiction and well worth watching twice.

Rollestons performance as hongi opened many doors for the lad, sadly his career was shortened somewhat by a automobile accident later in his life.

The excellent casting of many unknown actors gives this New Zealand film a refreshing look by avoiding the many over used talent in the small country.