The Dead Lands

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.

Sometimes "last of ..." is not that accurate, especially if you have two who can be called that. For different reasons of course. And while the main story is pretty straight forward (and you can see where it's going) there are some gems here and there. The action scenes are pretty well executed. My Maori is not up to the task, but the acting seems more than decent too.

Talking about tasks, the question is is our main hero up to it? Being put in a situation, no one wants to be in, but sometimes you are forced to be in, is more than difficult. On the other hand, you have his mentor, who has some issues of his own. The dynamic works well, though you have to be open minded with what it means to be them or live in that sort of environment - if you can't get down with that, it can be dreadful to watch

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.

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.

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.