intelearts

(2012-04-20 18:50:47)

My 391st Review: Zen-sational! Ninjas, Cowboys, a master swordsman, a girl to love, come on, what else d'ya want?

This is just what it is: an out and out fun film for those who likedanything from Highlander to Wanted and the Tournament or a ton of otherfilms with blades and assassins. It is well-made with high productionvalues with plenty of creativity in the camera work for both bulletsand swords and all in all has great production values.The acting and action are both very good for this type of film: thewhole set-up is that this will be legen (wait for it....) - dary; Ilike that the film took its time to explain and build and createrelationships. But it's mostly about the action of the world's greatestevaar swordsman, and on that basis it succeeds beautifully. Yes, theviolence is up there, but it is comic book and not horror.Better than normal acting for this type of film (and yes there are someaccent slips, but Geoffrey Rush is great) and all in all it issurprising how good a film it is to watch.All in all, if you ever wanted one man and one woman and a baby to takeon all comers then this will be up your street. Great fun and actuallya very well-made and very watchable film.

VWstarwars

(2012-04-20 03:48:15)

As Bad As "King Solomon's Mines" in the 80's, Worse!

I'm not sure what studio people or crew/family are associated withdowning everybody's negative critique of this dorky piece of junk, butman, you people are trying to silence some truth, big time! Wow, thismovie was awful! Kate Bosworth is terrible in this movie. I haven't seen anything elseshe's done that I remember her much from, but judging by this, "Shecan't act!" Holy Crap! The worst attempt at a southern accent. Nobodytalks that way in the south, Kate, nor the west. Who the hell was yourcoach for this? I read in another review where she almost ruins themovie by herself and I'll be damned if that isn't accurate . . . Idon't want to be mean, but know what you can do and can't do. We aretalking about supposedly humorous lines and situations making peopleshake their heads instead of laughing.Our main actor has no lines almost and the lines we do hear are deadpanand stiff. He really just walks around and looks at everyone andeverything with a blank expression.How fake can a movie get? I realize people were temporarily excited byCGI in films, but man, is it becoming increasingly bad and cheaplooking. You can see where the sets end! With the old Hollywood mannerof shooting everything in studio with rear projections, we have theexact same thing using modern technology. It really does not look anybetter, which would be okay if the story, directing and acting worked,but it does not here! To all who remember "King Solomon's Mines," we have her ugly kid sisterright here.

(2012-04-19 22:47:32)

Warrior Way review

In Sngmoo Lee's directorial depute he as the honor of directing AcademyAward® Winner Geoffrey Rush, and Kate Bosworth, Danny Huston andInternational Korean sensation Jang Dong Gun, from the highest grossingKorean film "Friend" star in this overly stylized martial arts westernmash-up.After a lifetime of training as a assassin or soldier in some grandbattle between families, the world's most dangerous swordsman/samuraiYang (Jang Dong-gun) with the exodus of his homeland and well-trainedobedient warrior clan, to start a new life in the American West after achange of heart when practically single-handedly slaughtering hisrival's army, our hero spares a newborn child. Yang and the orphan findthe beat-down town of Lode, "The Paris of the West" a home for outcast,circus performers, an old drunks (Geoffrey Rush), and a knife-thrower(Kate Bosworth) who is looking for revenge & redemption from "TheColonel" (Danny Huston) a sadistic rapist for killing her family as achild. Yang takes Kate Bosworth as his student. Soon "The Colonel" andhis gang wage an all-out war against the town. "The Warrior" Yang mustlead the town into an epic battle. Meanwhile Yang's old master and hisarmy of Ninjas hear the call of Yang's weeping sword, "yes you heardright, the weeping sword". Let me explain, when the sword is unsheathedthe swords weeps for all the lives it took. Lame as all hell.The film begins as cartoonish as it ends; with over the topchoreographed fight sequences and gravity-defying stunts and over thetop cg, annoying coolness, fans of 300 will love this film. I'mconsidering on starting a campaign in which studios are forced toreveal the percentage of cg to practical effects on all releases, Ithink people will be surprised on the number. I want to know if I'mwatching cartoon or not. We are constantly reminding that the actorsare interacting in front of a green screen, taking us out of the film."Or am I the only one that cares" Very much influences by comic bookand video game action, not to mention cheesy video game duologue whichseemed to be written by a 14 year old or a video game designer thatknows very little about storyteller just regurgitating images and linesthey thought sounded cool in other movies. Fortune cookie freshmaneastern philosophy one liners.If there is a silver cg lining in this disgrace of a western is thenarration of the great Geoffrey Rush, with his worn growl of a voicewhich acts of story teller to this thing called a film. Geoffrey Rushis one of the most honest actors still working, and yet again he iswasted in another bad movie. Kate Bosworth a true beauty and wonderfulactress and like Rush just wasting away in bad movies.Our maincharacter Yang (Jang Dong Gun) played with a great stockiness', aclassic character type "man with no name" a stereo type that exist in agood number of westerns. A story told a thousand times over – the hardman trying to make amends putting down his weapons taking the straightand narrow, only to be pulled back into the world he is trying toescape.With a bit of Sergio Leone campyness – without that small sense Leone'srealism this is truly a Jonah Hex companion piece, at least in samelevel of quality. Trying to play a bit on the surrealism of Kung FuHustle but missing badly on the entertainment value.A little past midpoint the film screeches to a halts with a meanderinglaughable pointless series of scenes with Geoffrey Rush and JangDong-gun having "deep thoughts" at the desert garden which now growsbeautiful foliage.Dead horses on the battlefield attempting to evoke Akira Kurosawa "forshame Sngmoo Lee , for shame". Jang Dong Gun is a true talent and hasall the potential of crossing over to an American audience with theright role choices; this is diffidently not the right vehicle for him.He has great look about him and a natural ease on camera, he has beencompares to a younger Chow Yun-Fat, yes unfair and a little racist, notevery new young Asian actor that has moderate success in the US shouldfeel that measurement.At the conclusion and what should have been most climactic scene in themovie – with the grand, epic long awaited show down with the greatestswordsman in the world and the teacher that taught him everything heknows, once again the films crescendo completely breaks down with ameaningless flashback. And the movie is over… the after the fact caperis laughable, I'll just let you witness that on your own. If your not14years old you should not like this movie… -Will- nerdvanainc.com

jsmmeyer-133-973770

(2012-04-19 12:25:10)

Surprisingly Awesome Mashup

This movie crossed so many genres and remained entertaining throughout.This is a redemption story for the main character and some of the minorsupporting characters as well. If you're a fan of Ninja/Samurai fantasyaction movies you might want to add this to your collection.At times it had an anime feel to it with some fight scenes mixed withother CGI techniques and green screen effects for unique visuals andcamera angles. It's an interesting and visually engaging movie.The pacing of the movie maintains a steady pace of action with anunderlying tone of pressure building to the final battle(s). The actionand fight scenes are very good and very bloody.This film for me seemed to incorporate from other films but notblatantly rip off as other have. Some of the movies/TV it seemed toborrow from - Ninja Assassin, Fighting Tiger Hidden Dragon, AfroSamurai, Bleach, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, High PlainsDrifter, Quigley Down Under, Matrix, Big Top Pee-wee, Toy Story 2.

SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain

(2012-04-10 07:44:37)

The Warrior's Way (2010)

An absolute wonderful mishmash of ideas and styles. It doesn't alwayswork, but when it does it is exciting stuff. The film takes martialarts, stylized violence, westerns, and a kind of French Jeunet style. Aswordsman disobeys his clan and runs off to the wild west. Not any wildwest town though, this is "The Paris" of the west. A town trying tolure in tourists by setting up a circus. The film is mostly set-up, andgets bogged down at times by having two separate villains, a band ofbandits and a band of ninjas. I liked the correlation between theromantic interests. One is a girl out to avenge her family, and the manshe falls for is a man that killed a baby girl's entire family. It'sthe thin line between duty and honor that make this work. It also has alot of fun towards the end, with awesome CGI, explosions, and clownsbrandishing guns. A bit of silly fun for those that like ninjas,clowns, and cowboys.

Agnello Dei

(2012-04-09 16:03:31)

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.

ladybug2535

(2012-04-08 11:24:42)

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.

johnnyboyz

(2012-04-08 00:11:23)

While clearly capable of working within certain genre boundaries and with that of green screen, Sngmoo Lee's film is little of what we haven't seen and a lot of what we have.

The Warrior's Way plays like a montage of the better bits out of rathergood films from decades gone by that you've already seen, to the pointthat one's enjoyment of this hodge-podge of a 2010 joint SouthKorean/New Zealand production relies solely as to whether or not you'refamiliar with them. If you are, the film will crawl along to itsstrained conclusion, albeit with some amusing 'bits' here and there asyou tick the proverbial boxes; if you aren't, you will take to the filma whole lot more than I did. The piece is a highly stylised, mostlydevoid of any originality, hybrid of two genres sharing common groundwith that of primary and secondary status; all of it playing out underthis odd canopy of post-Rodriguez/Tarantino homage. It is messy andmostly uninteresting, with an overall politic reading along the linesof warring; fighting and existing for such things can lead only on todestruction and the bringing about of great deals of pain and anguishto yourself and those around you - but damn, it sure as Hell can lookgood in the process.For all the cine-literate indulgences, it is ironic that the filmbegins with a sequence constructed as if straight out of a video game;a swordsman, the film's lead, stands alone in a field in this, 19thCentury China, and is ambushed by a glut of other swordsman beforereacting and dispatching them with consummate ease via an aestheticmost would refer to as "bullet time", even tough little in the way ofbullets are present. Having defeated the henchmen, each clad in theexact same garb as each other, he moves onto the 'boss' of thescenario, as is in the framework to a standard video game level, andeven dispatches him with similar levels of ease. It is then that he isdeclared as something along the lines of "the greatest swordsman tohave lived. Ever." - the inclusion of the "ever" symptomatic of whom itis the film's aimed at; that is to say, those moronic enough to thinkthe inclusion of said word at the end might make for 'cool' reading,and that pillaging the English language in such ways is acceptable.That lead is named Yang (Jang), the top hit-man with a clan of swordedwarriors whose mission to vanquish the lands of their enemies reaches ascreeching halt when their boy cannot kill the remaining member in theform of a baby infant. Taking off with it through some bamboo fieldswhilst chased by his own out of failure to carry out orders, in what isa sequence lifted straight out of 2004's House of Flying Daggers withthe presence of those old Lone Wolf and Cub films hovering over it all,he travels abroad and hides out in a ramshackle town in the AmericanOld West hoping to build a new life away from murder. If he releaseshis sword from the scabbard, it will be to kill; but these newfoundenemies will "hear" him do so: the status quo is mutual. Once there, hemeets and comes to love young Lynn (Bosworth); a knife thrower whompractises on a lowly, simplistic level by herself as Yang firstsaunters into town but will grow. She is a person with a sordidback-story of murder and terror; a back-story of which was instigatedby a still-active Confederate Colonol played by Danny Huston, asuitably nasty; suitably sadistic old coot sporting a Gerard ButlerPhantom of the Opera-style look complete with a low, gravelly voice inthe mould of Donald Sutherland who, like in most of these sorts offilms, is horrifically scarred in some way.Mingling about is Geoffrey Rush's town drunk Ron, a character whom isbarely anywhere at all for the first hour, but because it's GeoffreyRush and he feels put of place in this sort of film, we sense must playa larger part at some point before predictably turning up later on asthings reach a crescendo. His character has been a hardened alcoholicfor many years, now successfully kicking the habit, plucking a sniperrifle off of the shelves of fate and instantly triggering one'sclinical form of old back again – yeah, right. Feeding off of whatRodriguez did with Sin City, the film relies heavily on green screenedbackgrounds acting as vistas to all of this cranked up violence andaction unfolding amidst archetypes; the constant paying of homage tothe works of Morricone making it insulting to credit a certain JavierNavarrete as the composer and, like most oft-written Tarantino films,the thing ends with some kind of Mexican standoff following theintegration of two or more separate factions hitting one another headon – the chaos of the final act calling to mind that of From Dusk tillDawn, as a slam bang finale of violence arrives, during which theaforementioned Colonol antagonist has suddenly acquired skills in swordplay. It even finds room for a composition straight out of 1992's HardBoiled.It breaks down into a very simple equation, that is to say if one hasseen mostly any Hollywood western produced between 1935 and 1960, onewill not find anything in Sngmoo Lee's directed, Peter Jackson fundedpiece that is particularly new; if one has seen either Kung-fu Hustle,or heard any of the music from Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns, oreven watched any of those recent, elegant Chinese films along the linesof Curse of the Golden Flower, then one has seen mostly everything thatmakes The Warriror's Way stick out as the aesthetically stately orviscerally exciting film that it might be. Devoid of originality, andarriving with a gloomy, heavy air about proceedings that doesn'tcompliment the pastiche ridden content in a way the similarly made TheGood, the Bad, the Weird did not fall foul of, The Warrior's Way is atrite and ambling effort.

FTIGNORANT

(2012-04-07 12:36:34)

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.

(2012-04-06 19:21:44)

Wonderfuly Weird!!

This review is from: The Warrior's Way (Amazon Instant Video) A sureal love child of spagety westerns and kunge foo flicks, this film is pure excapest joy. Wonderfuly weird in the best sence of the words; break out the popcorn, sit down with your favorite other, and enjoy!No 'spoilers' here, just check it out!

lensta71

(2012-04-02 11:09:04)

All this negativity for a masterpiece? (not much of a spoiler)

This isn't a ninja movie; only half of one. Kate Bosworth steals theother half of the show with her old-west-gal portrayal. For theunobservant few who somehow missed it, the barely-in-her-teens girl wasshot and forced to watch her father, brother, and mother murdered, inthat order. She spent the remainder of her life plotting revenge uponthe Colonel. To her rescue, comes the 'greatest swordsman in thehistory of the world - ever'. She also receives help from the othercity carnies, a throwback to Clockwork Orange. The city bands togetherand must fight off a gang of cowboy thugs, reminiscent of Tombstone'sClantons, led by the Colonel. The swordsman of few words teaches theobsessed cowgirl to wield a blade and builds a closeness between them.The visuals and effects: great. The blood: great. Cleavage: great. KateBosworth is awesome and has to be the most underrated actresses on thestreets. The ninja on ninja action was great, as was the cowboy onninja. The cinematography was interesting, using sunsets,thunderstorms, snow and ice, and bamboo fields as settings, amongothers. The closeups and sky views, especially during swordplay, weremagnificent. The only complaint I could possibly make was the cheaplooking old west carnival set. It sort of looked like a closed downcarnival covered in dirt. Well, it's better than a romcom, and betterphysical brutality than any of your summer blockbusters. You shouldwant to watch this movie just to see Kate Bosworth sporting a countrytwang. It's worth your two hours spent and then some.

modulo numero

(2012-04-02 00:12:36)

Kate Bosworth is the best part

It's one of those movies where we westerners (Americans) are supposedto marvel at the magic and mystery of eastern values which ourprimitive cerebrum can never hope to comprehend.America is depicted as a circus with no hope and no direction being runinto the ground by a ruthless overlord. (Yeah, it hits a little closeto home) Asian culture is depicted as highly evolved and overtlyruthless. They're shown destroying themselves and everything they lovethrough their own ferocious and unbending will.There are a few really cool sword fighting scenes, and a lot of ho-humscenes, and a few really bad scenes.The sword fighting scenes do wear thin by the end of the movie.Kate Bosworth does a good job in this and brings some life and vivacityto counter the stone cold Asian's never ending death stares. Her actingisn't exactly great, but she has a lot of spirit.Being nice, it was almost watchable. Realistically, it sucked.

blackmamba99971

(2012-03-30 23:28:05)

A beautiful Dance of swords

This is an excellent example of how swords clash with ferocity. A manwho is a part of the Sad flute assassins has all but wiped out a familylineage except one little girl who was spared by his own hand. In doingso, he became his own worst enemy with his clan behind his back andhunting him down. Yang (Don Gun Jang) A warrior who is trained in thearts of assassination by a ruthless teacher. Goes to the west ofAmerica to keep the little girl safe from harm. But in the wake of hispeaceful existence among a sleepy town, a gang of thugs ride in to showtheir destructive power. Now in the middle of western trash, and theeastern flank, Yang must show his prowess on being the ultimateswordsman alive. Still in the middle, is a woman Lynne (Kate Bosworth)who survived an attack by the western garbage in her earlier years,joins with Yang to exact revenge for her parents death and to protectthe little Asian girl who is marked for death by the flute assassins. Aremarkable film of sword play, gun toting idiots, circus players, and aphonograph which plays a powerful opera piece which fits this movie.What was also a great addition was Geoffrey Rush who plays adisenchanted marksman of the long rifle. Now a drunk, his characterslowly succumbs and accepts Yang as one of the townsfolk. Seeing Yang'sperfect execution of killing a man before he hits the ground. Thismovie holds a good cast, a good but predictable story, much like theSergio Leone fashion of the lone hero. Still, a wonderful display ofcode, honour, and death for those who are deemed worthy to accept theirown fate. And in Yang's case, he will walk the earth as the mostpowerful and undefeated warrior since Hattori Hanzo. Highly recommendedto those who enjoy old world style blood baths. Not recommended tothose under fourteen.

bck

(2012-03-30 18:21:11)

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 ГѓВ  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.

Neil Welch

(2012-03-22 09:55:53)

Weird but engaging

This is the weirdest movie I've seen for some time. Think choreographedmartial arts ninja movie, crossed with spaghetti western, telling astory from the old Kung-Fu TV series, set in that semi-derelict townbuilt in the middle of a pile of sand from Jonah Hex (assuming you werethe other person who saw Jonah Hex), filmed in the style of 300. WithGeoffrey Rush playing the Lee Marvin character from Cat Ballou. KateBosworth channeling Doris Day as Calamity Jane (Ya dang varmint!"), andDanny Huston playing (another) bizarre villain. Oh, and for reasonswhich completely escaped me, there is a circus in town, which isbuilding a fairground (very slowly) in the expectation that this willbring the crowds and rejuvenate the town. Well, they get the crowdsalright - the first crowd is murderous outlaws and the second crowd ismurderous ninjas. And neither of them appears to be there to have funon the carousel.This felt very much as if it was an adaptation of a comic, but I'm notsure it was. It is beautifully photographed - very striking visually -fairly violent, often quite amusing, and always engaging. The warrior -Yang - is played emotionlessly by Dong-gun Jang, a name which may meansomething to you if you follow martial arts movies, but which meansnothing to me.And it's left open for a sequel. I'd happily go to a sequel, I quiteenjoyed this strange film.

Terry Roehrig II

(2012-03-22 00:36:59)

I have found a movie that's finally WORTHY of 'Worst Movie of the Decade'.

Let me start off by saying this: I wanted to shut this movie off tenminutes in. Another ten minutes passed... and I still wanted to stopit. I haven't watched a movie this stupid in my entire life --- andyes, I've watched every single Friday the 13th movie.About the only thing interesting in this 'so-called movie' is theswordplay and action sequences. Everything else is utter garbage, pureand simple.The 'story', if you will, revolves around an assassin who pisses offhis clan by not completing his mission. He was supposed to kill a baby.Yes, you heard me right, a baby. Our protagonist has a heart and savesthe baby and goes on the lam. You're probably asking yourself.... whydoes he have to kill the baby? Well, apparently, the legend is thatshe'll grow up and wipe them all out or something.... so, if they killher that that prophecy won't come true. Hey there.... want to know whatelse works? Raising it to not be a little murderess, how about that?Maybe try some parenting and I dunno.... raise it to not hate.So, after he saves the little brat he hides out in a circus town calledLode. Once there, he meets all kinds of crazy characters and gets stuckin an Asian stereotype by becoming the town's laundryman. One of theworst acting jobs comes to us from Lynne (Bosworth). She tries to playa rough-n-tough tomboy who's out for revenge against the man who killedher father and our protagonist plays Mr. Miyagi, er... I mean Yoda,er...It's one big hot mess that finally ends with a very cool actionsequence that I like to call 'cowboys vs. ninjas'. However, it's notenough to save the film. It comes wayyyyy too late and it's way toolittle. Everyone involved on this project is probably ashamed to havetheir name attached to it, I know I certainly would. More reviews atwww.soveryterry.com Final Grade: F

PMM1235

(2012-03-15 10:40:24)

Inexplicably overrated movie

I don't understand why this is such an overrated movie. Let's go stepby step:1) Claim of visually stunning is overrated 2) Absolutely everybody'sacting is overrated 3) Storyline is predictable and uninspired 4) swordaction is absolutely terrible. Mostly you hear swoosh sounds and seeblood flow 5) Dialogues are flat, and drawn out 6) The so called actionis overrated. Not very clear about who's fighting who and why. Nomatter how many bad guys die, they always reappear in same number inthe next scene. 7) Movie ends on an unexplainable note. 8) If possibledon't watch it. If impossible watch is for free and try to sleepthrough it.

gstarr-914-250127

(2012-03-15 01:30:09)

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

cane

(2012-03-10 17:54:49)

awesome

i dont get ppl who says there was no story linethere certainly was a good plotand this is R rated action moviewhat do you expect?plots like in the movies "the pianist," "red violin?" this is r rated action movieit is supposed to be violentbloods everywhere and sexual scenesthis is awesome action movieninjas and guns ...just awesomevisuals were greatbackground music were also greatcould see that they used traditional korean instruments in producing some background musicthere are interesting supporting charactersalso some humorous scenes for few laughsmust see A+

(2012-03-10 04:42:25)

Not as bad as the other guys review

Its not that thick on the drama(HmmPH! It used to be called story development but guess I'm just old). The movie still has some fun action moments but its not an all out action freak adrenaline rush(sorry junkies go watch Bleach or something). It has a good mix of actors including the guy who played the captain of the black pearl in the first Pirates of the Caribbean(Captain Barbossa). Look, its ninjas in a circus gone mad wild-wild west let your self get into it and have fun.