Jang Dong Gun, the South Korean movie star who's known for far more than martial arts, has made his American blockbuster debut in "The Warrior's Way", a film about the greatest swordsman in the world who is forced to flee his home. While not precisely a science fiction movie, there are just enough fantastical elements in this Old Western-style action flick to make it into the genre without crossing over into the highly volatile "Sci-fi Western" category. And that definitely works for this movie. Here are some other things that work, and that don't work.
First, the plot. Yang, trained since childhood to be the greatest warrior ever, is sent by his tribe to destroy their rivals; every last one of them. However, when he meets the last one, a baby girl whom eventually is named April, he makes the decision not to kill her. This may seem like a cliché, but Yang's goal was never to become a murderer. As a boy, he saw his own father murdered. He was adopted, essentially, and trained by the leader of his tribe to become an assassin; but his only ambition is to become the greatest swordsman in the world, and that ambition is not served by killing an innocent child. Knowing that his tribe will target him next for his failure, Yang takes the little girl with him and sets course for America.
The circus town (very nearly a ghost town) which is his destination works for this movie. He goes there because an old friend of his lives there; well, lived there. Finding that his friend has passed away, he is persuaded by the townsfolk to stay and take over the laundry shop that has been idle ever since. He even takes over the flower garden that no one had yet been able to properly cultivate. The colorful characters, including the ringleader Eight-ball (Tony Cox), the drunken Ron (Geoffrey Rush), and the knife-throwing Lynne (Kate Bosworth), quickly befriend the wanderer from the Orient and his delightful little charge. Soon, Yang sees the advantages of, in the words of the narrator, "making things grow instead of cutting them down". Again, it's a cliché that could easily have been mishandled, but that director Sngmoo Lee deftly utilizes.
The fight scenes in this movie are spectacular. Yang's former compatriots eventually find him, as you'd expect; and, as you'd expect, an incredible battle ensues. Jang Dong Gun is neither over-the-top nor completely wooden as he plays the ruthless assassin cutting down his foes. The transition between the simple laundry man raising a little girl and the cool, calculating warrior is more seamless than you'd expect.
The ninjas aren't the only villains in this movie, either. Danny Huston plays the Colonel, a man who drops in and out of the town periodically, taking whatever he wants each time. Commanding a force of what seems like no fewer than a hundred Hell Riders, the various clowns and tricksters have little in the way of defense. However, Yang isn't the only resident of this thriving circus town who hides a warrior side. When the final battle ensues, expect to see plenty of blood shed on all sides.
Lynne's storyline doesn't quite work, though not for the reasons you might think. There must always be balance between the main plot and the subplots; specifically, the main plot must outweigh the others. Yang's story certainly outweighs that of the circus town itself. The performers want to make a complete transition from "traveling" to "stationary"; part of that effort is in the creation of the gigantic Ferris Wheel. However, both Yang's battle with his tribe and Lynne's with the Colonel eventually come first, and no alternative is left to the other residents but to fight when the time comes.
Between Yang and Lynne, there is an undeniable attraction, and an unmistakable chemistry as well. By the time the final fight has begun, it's clear they've become equals, in their own way. That's fine, for a romance movie; but for a romantic subplot to this particular movie, it's not the best formula. Even Lynne's confrontation with her adversary ends up seeming more central to the movie than Yang's own.
The "end" of the movie definitely works. I won't give too much away, except to say this: when you train your entire life as a killer, how can you expect to simply walk away, even if all your enemies are dead? The movie is more bloody than I normally enjoy, and I don't think every storyline worked as well as they could have. However, it was highly thrilling, and literally kept me on the edge of my seat during some scenes. Jang Dong Gun is my favorite part of the movie, quietly charming and deadly, some times at the same time. Even if "The Warrior's Way" itself doesn't take off, you can expect his future in cinema to, on both sides of the Pacific. He certainly works for me.
(Originally appeared at http://fourthdayuniverse.com/reports/ )
First, the plot. Yang, trained since childhood to be the greatest warrior ever, is sent by his tribe to destroy their rivals; every last one of them. However, when he meets the last one, a baby girl whom eventually is named April, he makes the decision not to kill her. This may seem like a cliché, but Yang's goal was never to become a murderer. As a boy, he saw his own father murdered. He was adopted, essentially, and trained by the leader of his tribe to become an assassin; but his only ambition is to become the greatest swordsman in the world, and that ambition is not served by killing an innocent child. Knowing that his tribe will target him next for his failure, Yang takes the little girl with him and sets course for America.
The circus town (very nearly a ghost town) which is his destination works for this movie. He goes there because an old friend of his lives there; well, lived there. Finding that his friend has passed away, he is persuaded by the townsfolk to stay and take over the laundry shop that has been idle ever since. He even takes over the flower garden that no one had yet been able to properly cultivate. The colorful characters, including the ringleader Eight-ball (Tony Cox), the drunken Ron (Geoffrey Rush), and the knife-throwing Lynne (Kate Bosworth), quickly befriend the wanderer from the Orient and his delightful little charge. Soon, Yang sees the advantages of, in the words of the narrator, "making things grow instead of cutting them down". Again, it's a cliché that could easily have been mishandled, but that director Sngmoo Lee deftly utilizes.
The fight scenes in this movie are spectacular. Yang's former compatriots eventually find him, as you'd expect; and, as you'd expect, an incredible battle ensues. Jang Dong Gun is neither over-the-top nor completely wooden as he plays the ruthless assassin cutting down his foes. The transition between the simple laundry man raising a little girl and the cool, calculating warrior is more seamless than you'd expect.
The ninjas aren't the only villains in this movie, either. Danny Huston plays the Colonel, a man who drops in and out of the town periodically, taking whatever he wants each time. Commanding a force of what seems like no fewer than a hundred Hell Riders, the various clowns and tricksters have little in the way of defense. However, Yang isn't the only resident of this thriving circus town who hides a warrior side. When the final battle ensues, expect to see plenty of blood shed on all sides.
Lynne's storyline doesn't quite work, though not for the reasons you might think. There must always be balance between the main plot and the subplots; specifically, the main plot must outweigh the others. Yang's story certainly outweighs that of the circus town itself. The performers want to make a complete transition from "traveling" to "stationary"; part of that effort is in the creation of the gigantic Ferris Wheel. However, both Yang's battle with his tribe and Lynne's with the Colonel eventually come first, and no alternative is left to the other residents but to fight when the time comes.
Between Yang and Lynne, there is an undeniable attraction, and an unmistakable chemistry as well. By the time the final fight has begun, it's clear they've become equals, in their own way. That's fine, for a romance movie; but for a romantic subplot to this particular movie, it's not the best formula. Even Lynne's confrontation with her adversary ends up seeming more central to the movie than Yang's own.
The "end" of the movie definitely works. I won't give too much away, except to say this: when you train your entire life as a killer, how can you expect to simply walk away, even if all your enemies are dead? The movie is more bloody than I normally enjoy, and I don't think every storyline worked as well as they could have. However, it was highly thrilling, and literally kept me on the edge of my seat during some scenes. Jang Dong Gun is my favorite part of the movie, quietly charming and deadly, some times at the same time. Even if "The Warrior's Way" itself doesn't take off, you can expect his future in cinema to, on both sides of the Pacific. He certainly works for me.
(Originally appeared at http://fourthdayuniverse.com/reports/ )