bck

24 May 2012

Entertaining, enjoyable and visually stunning

Seriously, give this one a chance. For one, this is truly some beautiful cinema with striking set-ups, beautiful photography and gorgeous imagery, mostly courtesy of fancy CG work à la "300". Take in the insane yet awesome guns vs. swords fight sequence (like you didn't see that coming based on the posters) and you just might forgive its shortcomings.Okay, so on to the details. The fairly straight-forward tale follows Yang (as listed in the credits, played by Korean star Jang Dong Gun, although he's called different names throughout) as he defeats the last of his enemy to become "The Greatest Swordsman In The World". Except that his enemy has left behind a little baby girl. Instead of utterly finishing off the very last of his enemy, he adopts the baby girl and we're seemingly in a "Lone Wolf and Cub" territory as the warrior and child begin a trek away from his past. Yang is pursued by the rest of his clan because of this.Yang leaves the mysterious Eastern world (we're not told where exactly he's from, not quite looking like a samurai or a Chinese warrior, while those he fights do look like a cross between ninjas and something Chinese) for the Far West, ending up in a decaying and crumbling town called Lode looking for a friend. He is told that his friend has passed, and with the help of Lynne (Kate Bosworth) who calls him Skinny, Yang takes over his friend's Laundry business, forging a new and seemingly peaceful life for himself and the child. As these movies go, it's never so simple and his past, as well as Lynne's past, catches up.There is nothing spectacular in terms of acting although Jang plays his character as you would expect of a weary cold-eye warrior, i.e. cool or awesome when drawn to action, but a little weak in the softer scenes. Bosworth appears to have a little more life to her character, seemingly having fun with her role for the most part although a little wanting when her big action scene comes up. Danny Huston and Geoffrey Rush also appear to be having fun with their characters, Huston a little more so, relishing the villainy he gets to play with. It's cool seeing Hong Kong star, Ti Lung, on screen again although he hasn't anything to do beyond appearing as a token guest star and speaking with gravitas. And then there's a really colourful cast of characters in some circus folk who have taken residence in the town and are building a massive ferris-wheel that provides an interesting backdrop to the town's scenery.The action scenes are cool and fun to watch, bordering on utterly silly at some points (involving a Gatling gun, for one), but again, it can easily be forgiven. One key scene I like is when Yang is training Lynne in knife fighting. Very simply choreographed so that it's not too flashy, but very nicely shot too. Overall, it's not outstanding, but it is entertaining and enjoyable, and very pretty looking movie.

PYRiAH

24 May 2012

The Warrior may have lost his way

"The Warrior's Way" is Sngmoo Lee's first attempt at directing and Imust say that he may need some more work if he is going to continue todirect animes, I mean comedies, no westerns, I mean samurai… Basicallywhen the movies starts out you have no idea what kind of movie Lee istrying to make, but he has come up with an original plot. I have neverseen a movie where an assassin refuses to kill a target and in returnis then tracked down to be killed by the assassin group he used to workfor (*written in a sarcastic tone*). Although, Lee did try to beoriginal by adding his own twist to this widely used plot and that isnone other than the great idea of circus cowboys!Read full review at FlicksWorthWatching.com

capone666

23 May 2012

The Vidiot Reviews...

The Warrior's WayToday, everything in America is made in China. But back in the 1800s,everything was made in America…by the Chinese. And while the Asian drifter in this action movie didn't come to Americato build the Central Pacific Railroad, he is looking for a new life.Disobeying an order to annihilate his enemy clan, assassin Yang (JangDong-gun) takes the last surviving member–a newborn–with him across theocean to America.Putting down roots in a ramshackle burg ruled by ruffians, Yang makesshort work of the wild Westerners, which wins over the locals (GeoffreyRush, Kate Bosworth, Tony Cox).Later, they help him protect the child from his former clan who havecome to kill him.Though an Eastern swordsmen interacting with Western gunslingers soundsintriguing, the borrowed narrative, bungling actors andcomputer-generated action makes this regrettable.Instead, the sword-bearer should've established the first-ever saddlesore lancing company. (Red Light)

MHMovieReviews

23 May 2012

A Spoiled Four Year Old Girl

"The Warrior's Way" also known as "Laundry Warrior" is a film that cango either way. It is not going to be a very popular film because of itsrelease timing and the narrow demographic that it targets. The filmitself is very shaky with a horrible first half leading to asurprisingly strong rebound for the second half of the film. The filmbegins with a man named Yang (South Korean superstar Dong-gun Jang)becoming the greatest assassin of all time. His mission is to kill allof the people in his enemy's clan, however, when he looks the last babyin the face he cannot bring himself to do it. Instead he takes the babyand moves out west away from his old life to a small town named Lode.He looks for his friend in the town, but finds that he has died andthat the only 50 people inhabit the town, many of which are a part of atravelling circus. Yang hangs up his sword for good because he knowsthat if he uses it he will be found and killed by his old master thathe has angered for failing to kill the infant. During his stay he meetsa woman named Lynne (Kate Bosworth) and a drunkard named Ron (GeoffreyRush). Yang learns from them that the town has a past with a man calledColonel (Danny Huston) and his gang and that Lynne has a secretconcerning the Colonel. With two enemies now everything has been setinto motion for the epic climatic battle. Dong-gun Jang proves that he could be the next big martial arts actorto run across the screens of America as he tears up the screen in "TheWarrior's Way." Geoffrey Rush is great as usual once his character andthe story itself allow him to act. Together these two save the filmfrom failure and create an awesome ending action sequence lastingaround 30 minutes. They show that if they were given the chance earlierto let their characters shine and have more of the screen instead ofletting Kate Bosworth steal it, the film would have been a solid actionmovie.Kate Bosworth's character Lynne is almost able to ruin the movie byherself. Lynne has the personally equivalent to a spoiled littlefour-year-old girl. This has resulted in a very awkward performance byBosworth as she deals with a very weak screenplay. It is hard to tellif it is bad acting or if the writing needed some work, but thecharacter of Lynne and the disturbing back story that follows herreally puts a damper on the film. Also, the entire message of the filmis lost when Yang changes back to his old ways at the end of the filmand lives the life that he use to live. This would have been fine ifthis wasn't emphasized so much throughout the long and boring firsthalf of the film. This film is supposed to be an action ninja-fightingmovie, however, the first part of the film takes on a different andawkward identityThe MPAA rating states that the film is rated R for "Strong bloodyviolence" however it fails to state that there are some verydisturbing, highly sexual almost rape images. Therefore, it is not thebest film to see this Holiday season. With this in mind along with theweak first half of the film I cannot recommend seeing it unless you area big ninja movie fan. Even then I recommend waiting for DVD so you canfast forward through the drama to get to the highly entertaining ending

Katie-Lynn McBain

23 May 2012

Im buying it. Lovee.

I absolutely loved this movie. It's one of those I wanted to go backand see again the next day. Definitely buying it (and I don't like manymovies enough to buy them). I like that it has tonnes of effective symbolism (would make a GREATfilm for a film study) and I love the western/samurai cross. Finally amovie with the right amount of gore! It's so hard to find a movie withthe right amount of gore. It's exciting without going overboard. Ireally liked the ending as well. Although the sword action could've been better visually; it wasaccurate. The story line a little predictable (but, really, what HASN'Tbeen done already but easy enough to follow. I would recommend this a movie to watch alone or with your someone. Thebalance between passion and action is perfect.

Sebastien Dawson

22 May 2012

So bad, its brilliant

i went into the cinemas not knowing what to expect as i had never evenheard of the film. and what a surprise! Ninjas vs Cowboys! terribleplot, terrible storyline, decent acting, clichéd romance and best ofall, pointlessly violent fight scenes with blood soaked action and goreridden battles. the visuals are impressive and the art style isinteresting. But honestly i couldn't believe how, i don't know. howbrutally terrible and predictive the plot was. but it made me laugh somany times even though it was not a comedy.Just things like the main character walking off into the sunset(cliche) and the voice over saying "and some say he never stoppedwalking". i was expecting the credits to start rolling when we see ourfavorite ninja SITTING down in an icy log cabin! and then proceeds tostab a man in the eye with a frozen fish! HA!! love it :D its so badthat its excellent. fun for the whole family (joking of course) will bebuying the DVD because its unmissable :)peace

regchivas

19 May 2012

its all about style

Eastern and Western have something in common (among others), they canboth be very stylish.Think of two Samurai on a wooden Bridge surrounded by cherry Blossomswith a matching Japanese Track or two Cowboys meeting at Noon,surrounded by dirt and sand also with a nice accommodating track. Thesemoments entertain just by their audiovisual appearance.This Movie has a few of such Moments. Although none of them is goodenough to reinvent the genre, they are somewhat stylish and enjoyable.There is not much else worth mentioning. The Story tends to bestraightforward. Bad Guy turning Good must have been done to deadalready. So it very much depends on your expectations how this Moviewill work for you.Remember, that Eastern and Western, especially when they are made"Stylish", tend to overdue a lot. So if a Swordsman cutting down a Armyarmed with Rifles and Guns isn't gonna be a Problem for you, than youmight wanna give this one a Chance.

gstarr-914-250127

18 May 2012

Horrible

With the build up of this movie, I was expecting an enjoyable movie.But in fact I ended up seeing a waste of my money. The story line wasboring and absolutely absurd. The special effects were poor andunbelievable.Kate Bosworth was the only redeeming factor and person who actuallyacted in this movie.It isn't too often you witness people actually walking out of the moviebut it happened with this one. DO NOT waste your money. I won't evenwatch it when it comes out on Blu-Ray either.Again, I can stress this enough. This movie is not worth the moneyseeing at the theater or when it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray

ladybug2535

16 May 2012

Great over the top film with a great cast and surprising depth

I loved this movie so much more than I expected. Yes it is over the topin the same way Pulp Fiction, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, andMachete were: Lots of fantastic Ninja moves and sword fights; Slow-Moviolence (blood spraying, heads flying); cool CGI; lovelycinematography; and the usual mayhem you would expect with a film ofthis type. Much to my surprise though, the film had an interesting andcohesive storyline with depth; a good varied cast; solid characters;some mild unexpected slapstick; some subtle, and sometimes sweet humor;and an unexpected emotional range. It turned out to be a veryinteresting blend beyond the intriguing Ninja-cowboy dynamic. And itworks. None of these seemingly disparate elements seem intrusive orgratuitous. They fit the flow and fit the characters.This movie is much more than just a ninja-western; good against evil(and there is some real, very disturbing evil here that infects thetown--and it's people, like a rot) tale: this film explores how pathscan be altered by a single impulsive choice--in this case an act ofmercy that requires a lifetime commitment; reveals the unexpectedloneliness of redemption and the often terrible but unintendedconsequences of revenge. Although revenge is as much a theme in thismovie as it was in Machete (or Kill Bill), Warrior's Way doesn't treatrevenge as an all-encompassing or one-note motivation. Also unlike KillBill or Machete, that is not the only, or even the main theme of thefilm. The motives and lives of the characters in this movie are muchmore complicated. You will feel for them.The script allows the characters and their relationships to develop ina more realistic way than you would expect in a movie like this. Thesepeople all seem to be outcasts of one sort or another, but notstereotypical outcasts (Circus performers in the same disintegratingtown for over ten years? I confess a sneaking suspicion that the townwould turn out to be some kind of Purgatory, and perhaps it is--ormaybe I'm just over-analyzing this aspect of the film, it just has thatfeel). These are outcasts with HISTORY. The movie doesn't fill in all the details,and it's not necessary forthe storyline. Despite the sometimes rather spare dialog (or maybebecause of it), you feel the characters' pain; their loneliness. thefear; their shame; and their longing for more. They hang in. They keepbuilding for a vision even as the town's hotel falls down (Hinting thatthe place was once lively and commercially viable. All that's left nowis a disintegrating facade.) Nothing grows in the gardens. Many of thebuildings (and some of the people) are barely standing. Yet, despiteeverything, there is hope in this desperate little town. And that hopegives our fugitive Ninja a reason to stay.When I compare this movie to the others mentioned, I think this movieis far better. I liked Machete and Pulp Fiction--which has in its ownway become so iconic. They are similar in their treatment and the waythe movies--though in a deliberately exaggerated way, don't flinch fromviolence or the aftermath. As with Pulp Fiction, the main character inWarrior's Way is an assassin, but these are assassins that maintain aspark of humanity. Nonetheless, The characters in The Warrior's Way,feel more like real people, not characters in a movie. Though they arenot anymore "normal" than Pulp Fiction's characters, or any of theother films--and in many ways the characters are even more"unrealistic"; somehow WW succeeds in making them feel more real, morehuman. They have solid personalities, react realistically and make youcare about them. dammit.Warrior's Way is most similar to Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon in thetreatment of its Ninja action sequences, the aerial acrobatics, theexquisite quality of the camera work and the beautifully narrativecinematography. The photography in both films has some breath-takingmoments. Crouching Tiger had some fantastic and very memorable actionscenes, but I think Warrior's Way tops them (though there are fewer inWW). There's an excellent scene in Warrior's Way that has Ninja's landing onthen jumping from rooftops and flying down in formation like regimentedpointy-headed vampire bats. Furthering that image, one Ninja wraps hisprey in his cape as if they were his wings before he opens them and hisfoe falls down dead. That final image--that segment, will never leaveme. It is stunning. And chilling. There are so many of them, moving inperfect harmony, with perfect grace, and you never see their faces.Somehow that makes them even creepier. The action scenes in thisparticularly notable segment are cinematically beautiful, beautifullystaged, and eerily menacing at the same time. VERY cool.All of the action scenes are done well, fit the pace of the film, andthe movie is better for them. Unlike Crouching Tiger-Hidden Dragon (orso many others), none of the fight/action scenes feel like padding, oraction for action's sake. The storyline takes precedent over "action"and this is one of the things that makes the film so good. Make nomistake though, this IS an action film. There is not a lot of dialog,though as with the action scenes, what is there is necessary and(reasonably) believable. Some viewers may prefer more action and lessstory, or a faster-moving film, but I think the pacing is just right,it allows you to become more involved with the people--even the onesthat seem (at first) to be just background characters.Then again, maybe it was just that adorable baby so central to the filmthat won me over. Naw. But believe me, if you liked any of the films I compared to TheWarrior's Way, you will definitely like, possibly even love this movieas much as I do. I think this movie is destined to become an iconicclassic.

KineticSeoul

16 May 2012

Decent idea, but poorly executed direction but great action sequences

I am not really a fan of Jang Dong-gun, but that is the main reason Idecided to watch this movie. Since he is a popular actor in SouthKorea, despite the negative reviews it's been getting the trailerdidn't seem that bad. Although you can't judge a movie from thetrailers alone. Also because it has Geoffrey Rush in it, so thought themovie would be good since he decided to play a role. The cross betweenmystical east and cliché west elements worked alright and goes in a bitof a cartoonish direction. Maybe it's because of the cheap CGIbackgrounds. The movie has some good ideas but the execution is donepoorly. The plot is basically about a very skilled swordsman gettingsome humanity within after keeping the baby of his enemy instead ofkilling her and meeting certain folks. The conflict kicks in when hispast comes to disrupt the peace while also having to deal with one ofthe town's girl's haunting past. So yeah besides the clash of easternand western in some aspects, the plot is cliché and predictable for themost part. The bonding parts which take up most of the running time wasdull is dull and boring to watch. During the whole time I wasconstantly just wondering when the action is going to kick back in. Theconnection between the plot and the action sequences work though, infact when the main action sequences kick back in it's non stopentertainment. Mainly because the action sequences are choreographedvery well and very entertaining to watch.6.4/10

Anh Tran

16 May 2012

Just a terrible movie overall

There must be a 1000 paid people who have posted positive things on thecinematography and beauty of this movie. In short, you're all wrong.This movie was a complete waste of what could have been somethinginteresting. The trailer for this movie was by far better than themovie itself. In the trailer, I thought this was going to be some kindof Ninja Scroll meets Trigun meets Kate Bosworth. However, all we gotwas computer generated crap.The action was absolutely terrible. There were no smooth sequenceswhere you actually believed the character could do any of things he wassupposed to be able to do. The initial duo at the beginning against thegreatest swordsman ever had no flair, no drama and no beauty. The swordfight against his clansman and the master at the end again fellcompletely flat. If you came into this movie thinking that maybe theacting will suck and you'll get tons of good action sequences, thinkagain.

FTIGNORANT

15 May 2012

Cowboys vs Ninjas great stylized blood violence

Saw the sneak preview last night. It was funny, bloody and beautiful though sometimes not enthralling. Geoffry Rush was hilarious and the more ragged and drunk his characters are the better as far as I'm concerned and he is very drunk and ragged in this flick. He could very well be the same pirate as in PotC after deciding to leave the sea and wander the wild west. The action was gorey and yet stylish. The delayed blood spray after an intial blade attack is a staple in martial arts films and always a great technique in my view and this director delayed the spray as long as he could in some scenes creating much anticipation. It's all sort of toungue in cheek but serious enough to be exciting as well as delightful. It probably sounds odd but makeup did an incredible job coating these actors in blood as if it was sprayed on instead of just dumped on them in buckets. The effects team made a very strong effort with the CGI and green screen effects and only occasionally failed to suspend my belief to the point of distraction but only because they were attempting some very technical effects like having slow motion shot of a samuarai blade thrusting forward while splitting raindrops in half for example (the water wasn't quite real enough). They load up the movie with so many great effects that we've seen often in these types of films so that the minor and only mild flaws can be quickly forgotten because they are just as quickly replaced with more eye candy. Villains are great and they deserve to die horribly. Baby is hilarious. All I can say that is any sort of negative is that our star Ninja kills his enemies so quickly in some scenes that there is perhaps too much time left to be spent on the reltionship story line which causes the middle to drag a bit. However it's time used the flesh out the secondary characters well and once the Cowboys, Ninjas and Circus folks are fully engaged in killing each other that just allows us to care about who lives and who dies and this increases the enjoyment of the visceral slicing and dying. Spoiler Alert: Most will die! Go see it if you like the style and humor you find in movies like Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer. This is not the tedious slog that Jonah Hex became because they actually deliver on the action and they aren't afraid to kill women and children or even the clowns... because that's what ninjas and cowboys do best. I can say with all scincerity that this is the best Cowboys vs Ninja movie I've ever seen.

14 May 2012

Great To Watch On A Rainy Day With Nothing To Do!

I was all tucked out on the couch watching this on a rainy day with nothing to do. The movie was very enjoyable. It didn't require a lot of brain power and allowed me to just veg out. Perfect for those type of afternoons.

Cami

14 May 2012

Its raining ninjas!

Combative sword play is the main action attraction in a movie featuring a lone swordsman warrior.He leaves his home on the far side of the Asian world carrying his rival's abandoned baby on his back.In a new land on the western frontier,the warrior settles into a laundry business in a ghost town of broken carnival rides and a fearful circus troupe and citizenry.Each one of the townsfolk has their own ballad,a sad operatic story to tell.They all have reason to be fearful,for from time to time a horde of bad guys invade the town causing challenge and chaos. But this time the warrior swordsman is on the scene and he along with his ninjas falling from the sky are prepared to battle for right.While the sword action scenes are pure poetry in motion,the cinematography is also a worthy draw,from the dust-laden desert scape to the breselent beauty of a star-studded night sky,to the palatte patch of garden flowers to sepia tinted town scapes,the movie is ingeniously filmed. Its high level of interest ropes one in.Grade B for bravoSIM-- "Unforgiven" "Ran" "Legends of the fall"" ill bill, vol."

musanna-ahmed

14 May 2012

Cowboys vs ninjas? Sounds good but...

The Warrior's Way – stars South Korean actor Jang Dong-Gun, KateBosworth, Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush plus the little man weknew in Bad Santa as Marcus, Tony Cox. A mismatched cast in terms ofthe films they're in but hey presto it worked in thiswestern-fantasy-action flick.The film opens with a voice narrating the foundation of the warrior'sstory. It is a story of an empty-eyed warrior who trained his life toachieve one purpose – to become the greatest swordsman. He achievedthis by defeating the tribe he was sent to by his own tribe who areknown as the Sad Flutes. He defeated them all until there was only oneenemy left, a baby named April. The two clans had been fighting foraround 500 years and Yang had defeated every one of his adversariesuntil this one. Ultimately, he chose not to completely fulfil thetarget of destroying the entire tribe by sparing her and taking heraway. The baby's giggling is heart-warming for the warrior and thiscompletely drives him off wanting to execute her for the pleasure ofvictory for his tribe. Knowing that he has failed the mission, hetravels as far as away from the tribe as possible. This suggests thatthe tribe may go after the baby their selves if the warrior cannothandle it...but no, not until very late into the film. Thumb down for aloosely put plot. Instead the story continues with the warrior's journey to look for hisold friend and he travels to a circus town in the 19th century WildWest of America that is full of cowboys with the exception of someclowns and 8-Ball – Tony Cox's character who aids the warrior aroundthe place as a Colonel roams the place killing anyone he desires, andeven going for rape. The contrast of the settings as they shift (fromthe location of the tribe and the circus town) was smartly done. Thetribe area is a dark, heavily poured upon area and the circus town is apost-apocalyptic looking, deserted area that looks quite similar to theplace in the Denzel Washington flick The Book of Eli. Adapting to thisenvironment by learning things he should have learnt a long time agowith the people around him; the warrior's mission is to survive if hewas to encounter his tribe again if they were to attempt to annihilatehim due to his refusal of killing the last enemy. As I mentioned before, though the cast worked well, having JangDong-Gun was just another one of the "Yeah it's got a big star, thecritics will love it" act by Hollywood. Not fluent in English and hebarely had any dialogue in the film. Maybe it was because Sngmoo Lee(the director, this is actually his first film) was going for asilent-but-deadly approach or maybe it was just the lack of fluency?Sam Bosworth and Geoffrey Rush did a good job and were shining in theirrespective roles and Tony Cox was well suited to his character. The manwho stole the show was the Colonel, played by Danny Huston. Hisforceful, powerful, authoritative, infamous role in the film is pulledoff well. Nothing award winning but makes do for the normalover-the-top style you see of his.The movie has its pros – intense battle sequences, really cool slowmotion scenes (from bullets to sword swipes), and of course with thepoint of the baby being a target for the rest of the Sad Flutes, it hasits joyful and tearful moments. Oh and the soundtrack wasn't quite atthe top of the epic scale but was really good combining the sort ofstuff you'd hear in Lord of The Rings (well it was produced by theproducer of that brilliant trilogy) with some opera that fitted induring the times it was used. However it has its cons – the baby barelyhas significance for a lot of the film. The film has a lot of clichés –we've seen Korean/Japanese/Chinese men that have words of wisdom andwhat they speak can make a massive difference (take Mr Miyagi from theKarate Kid as an example) and that is what you see with this warriorwhen he advises what the town could use for a bigger arsenal ofweapons. Plus there's the slow-mo slashing (combine a sword slash from300 and put the dude from Ninja Assassin in the Spartan's position andthat's what you have here) and as always in similar films, the victorsof the battles are predictable. Perhaps the most major negative point Ihave to make about this film is how the whole concept of ninja's versuscowboys that the trailer had given us an idea about, is nothing untilmaybe THREE QUARTERS into the film. So yes it does happen but if it'swhat you had hoped to be the theme of the film, then you'd probablyfind yourself out of the theatre before this happens. A let down ofwhat I had hoped would be something I didn't see often in flicksrevolving around a ninja warrior.All in all, it was a decent debut for Sngmoo Lee. It has its positivesand it has its negatives, you either like it or you hate it. TheWarrior's Way – a tale that is cliché packed but just may satisfy theaudience that love Asian flicks or are looking for something a littledifferent to what's at the cinema right now as it combines differentgenre's. Plus it's certainly better than the dull Wild West flick JonahHex that was released earlier this year. 6.5/10

13 May 2012

The Warriors Way

This review is from: The Warrior's Way (Amazon Instant Video) This movie was jammed packed with action suspense drama which makes it good watch. My husband really liked this because of what this movie made you stop and think about how precious life really is.

Emad Nabil

13 May 2012

atmospheric action

I regret watching this movie at home and not at the movie theater.these kind of movies are much more enjoyable specially on the bigscreen. The movie has a magic to it and atmosphere that is very wellportrayed.I loved the hero character being the " silent and deadly " type, itsaved the script and boosted up the acting.If you are into samurai and warrior's from the east and such Idefinitely recommend this movie, it successfully managed to combineswordsman skills with cowboy gun fights, which I never seen before. themovie is very stylish and they did a great job with the atmosphericeffects.

princebansal1982

12 May 2012

Ninjas vs Cowboys - Mindless Entertainment

I liked this movie, maybe because I didn't expect much from this movie.I was expecting an action movie and wanted to watch the lovely KateBosforth. So I liked it.When I say this is a mindless movie I mean it, and I don't mean allaction movies are mindless, no I mean this movie is mindless. Whileeverybody has done good acting, the plot is just ridiculous.The action sequences are very over the top, it is Kill Bill meetsCrouching Tiger meets 300. I referred to 300 because this movie hasdistinct visual theme. Almost all the backgrounds, sun , sky etc arecomputer generated and done in other worldly colors with sort of sepiatones which matches this over the top movie.Not a great movie by any means, but a good movie if you are an actionfan and are not expecting much.

RichardSRussell-1

11 May 2012

Crouching Tiger meets Cat Ballou. Mrrow!

The Warrior's Way (1:40, R) — other: adventure, 3rd string, original,OSIT cynicsThe fantasy element here is that ANY person could be such an excellentswordsman that he can single-handedly take on a horde of 40 or morealmost equally skillful ninjas, then later do the same to a bunch ofbadass cowboys equipped with 6-shooters and a gatling gun. Also,there's the thing about his katana wailing with the souls of all thelives it's taken, such that it can be heard from half a continent awayby the adept's old sensei. Oh, yeah, and the flying ninja thing was alittle hard to swallow as well.But basically, the fantastic elements play 2nd fiddle to the story of alone warrior (Jang Dong Gun) who has refused his final assigned task:to kill the last member of a rival tribe, who happens to be an adorableinfant girl. Instead, he takes her with him and flees to America, wherehe eventually ends up in the desolate Western town of Lode, population506, home to, among other things, a half-built 4-story-tall ferriswheel, a bunch of carnies who seem to have been stranded here forupwards of a decade, half the sand in Arizona, and Kate Bosworth.The closing credits identify the lead characters as Yang and Lynne, butI don't recall hearing their names spoken aloud during the film itself.(Kate does refer to the mysterious stranger as Skinny.) Indeed, Yang'staciturnity is matched only by his constant blandness of expression.One suspects that the actor learned his few lines phonetically, thothey're delivered well enuf.The 2 stars resurrect Smiley's Chinese Laundry by day and learn sword-and knifeplay and the warrior's way by night. (For a desert town, theresure seems to be plenty of water.)Yang's clan, the Sad Flutes, cannot abide betrayal, so the aforesaidhorde of them track our lad across the Pacific and descend on Lodeshortly after über-villain The Colonel (Danny Huston) has returned towreak one of his periodic depradations upon this godforsaken sandbarren. Thus (shades of Good, Bad, and Ugly) we have a 3-waysplatterfest at the end, as the villagers finally gin up some gumption.There are many, many, many, many slo-mo scenes of single katana slicesproducing misty red clouds. Likewise many, many, many, many variationson sepia tones and odd camera angles, presumably demonstrating thedifference between Art and mere hack-and-slash escapism. And everycharacter is a character, if you know what I mean.It was mildly entertaining while it was happening, but it didn't takeitself seriously for a second, and neither should you.

Agnello Dei

11 May 2012

Gorgeous Movie

I went to watch this not knowing much about it except it was a sort ofNinja movie. Well, it turned out to be much more than that! Thecinematography is truly remarkable and beautiful, the use of music isemotive and expressive (The main piece is the recording of "D'amorsull'ali rosee" from Verdi's "Il Trovatore" sung by the great MariaCallas). I found myself immersed in the story, even on the quietmoments I did not lose interest for it turned out to be much more thanan action flick but truly a beautiful movie and a beautiful story. Ididn't find it particularly gory, though the situations are quitebrutal and not for everybody. Overall it's a gorgeous movie in everysense, about a warrior who finds a home between a bunch of bustedpeople and misfits, and finds his redemption. It is worth seeing andowning.