The Warrior's Way

[zDom]

This movie turned out to be an incredibly enjoyable experience.

I was expecting a Ninja Assassin-type movie but it turned out to be so much more than I was lead to expect by the trailers.

Don't go hoping for martial arts film. It isn't, really.

It has some "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"-type action: legends exceeding the abilities of what I believe to be the limits of (modern) human ability.

It has over-the-top violence/gore a la Japanese Chambara films.

It is very much a Wandering Samurai type of film (although I would argue that the main character is NOT a Japanese Ronin but a Korean swordsman as the country the story originates in is not disclosed and the main character is played by a South Korean! )

It embraces the connection of American Westerns and Japanese Samurai films.

Lone Wolf and Cub homages are there.

This is a VERY stylized, "film as a moving canvas" type of movie. Some really awesome visuals.

If I was King of the World, this film would win awards. It has made my favorite top 5 films as of my first viewing. I'll have to watch a second time on the big screen before I finalize that opinion, but I walked out of that theater blown away.

Your Mileage May Vary based on Your Tastes in Film.

 

[Steve]

It was a movie I'd like to see, but could wait until Netflix.

Now it's a movie to which I'll drag my wife whether she likes it or not!

Thanks for the review.

 

[billc]

I saw the movie over the weekend. It wasn't bad. The action was a little less than I had hoped for. Not really a spoiler but what is it about a winter landscape and swordsmanship that makes it so cool? One of the best ends to a movie is from the original Blade, with Wesley Snipes. The falling snow, the crisp look to the images, and of course Wesley snipes looked really cool. I have to say that a winter landscape is more appealing to me than say a summer or spring landscape. I really like the fall, but it can look kind of dreary.