Tuesday, December 7, 2010

A Warrior's Way (2010)

i dont know where to start. i cannot begin to describe how much i hated the warrior's way. after witnessing the horror at the sneak peek in los angeles, i gave it the benefit of the doubt and assumed that the full version of the movie would slightly be better. oh boy was i wrong.

In the 19th century, a warrior name Yang (Jang Dong-gun) is ordered to kill the last member of an enemy clan--a baby. He refuses the mission and flees with the child to a dilapidated town in the American West. Despite his attempts, his enemies close in on him and he must fight to protect the child and his newfound comrades, Lynne (Kate Bosworth).

it is essentially a story of how the east meets the west. there is simple (yet, trivial) formula that can be followed during hard times like these when one like sngmoo lee has a brain fart. i should take into consideration that this film was 11 years in the making but that does not justify how cliche and banal the story and characters were altogether . yes there were decent action sequences but rather than focusing on the goal of each character, the story got lost midway of Jang Dong Gun and Kate Bosworth's characters's love affair. the film in its entirety was not believable even with its advanced "CG." and although, some scenes looked cool with its explosion of pastel colors on the backdrop, there was just no substance to the story. there was no emotional pull. why should i even bother caring about these two people whose troubled past does not tear my heart into sympathetic shreds?

what is more bothersome is the fact that they take great foreign actors and put them into "americanized" blockbusters that doesnt truly show their worth besides their incredible ninja skills. same goes for bi (rain) in speed racer and ninja assassin and lee byung-hun in g.i. joe. i know the studios primarily agree to have an foreign actor be in an action film rather than a drama considering the international appeal of the genre but come on! its so repetitive and overdone, that although these stars are getting global recognition, the film itself devalues their ability and talents back by a tenfold. iiiono, im just saying.

i feel like im being too generous but as a Jang Dong-gun fan, it's a C.