“I’ll see you in hell little girl! Make sure you wear something dirty!”
A beautiful combination of cinematography and color choices makes The Warrior’s Way seem like a graphic novel that has shifted its way onto the movie screen. Where most scenes make you feel as if you are trapped within a red box of solitude, the sheer beauty of it all makes it a pleasant box of sand, blood and circus props.
Welcome to The Warrior’s Way, the movie is so heavily influenced that it seemed like a journey into the mind of someone who loves the same cult classic movies and videogames that I do. There is a child being toted around by a deadly assassin just like Lone Wolf and Cub (The Shogun’s Assassin). There is a warrior who teaches a town full of peasants clowns how to fight back against the rogues that prey on them just like Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. There is the Spaghetti Western kickback of the silent warrior entering town and bringing trouble like A Fist Full of Dollars. And there is the ninja dash and slash – pause – one drops dead scene of Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden. There seems to be every ingredient for a nerdy fanboi to love this film, from a super cute and spunky girly girl to the flawless, immortal warrior.
There are ninjas that leap from buildings, rice hats, master Samurai, deadly sharpened katanas and badass cowboys. There is an element of Mel Gibson’s The Road Warrior, a hint of Frank Miller influence and it just gets better and better from there. While the pacing of the movie could have used a shot of adrenaline, by the time the heat picks up you are locked into focus watching the blood fly, the swords slice and the bullets ripple through wood, flesh and beautifully arranged flowerbeds.
Plot and Synopsis
Seasoned South Korean actor Dong-gun Jang stars as Yang a Sword Saint from ancient Japan that has proven himself as the matchless sword master in the whole country. His clan has been at war with their rivals since time immortal and after cutting down the best of the best, the only remaining member of his enemies is a tiny baby girl. The cute chibi warms Yang’s cold heart and he elects to run away to the America’s with her instead of killing her or facing the wrath of his clan for letting her live. When Yang arrives in America in search of his old uncle he finds a decimated town of carnival folk at the location that his uncle had sent him. The town is led by the little person 8-Ball (Tony Cox) who welcomes him and shows him where his late uncle once resided, here he meets Lynne (Kate Bosworth) a playfully feisty little cowgirl who tells him how his uncle taught her the sword.
Once settled in with the baby girl now named April, Yang becomes a regular Joe being taught by Lynne how to run his late uncle’s laundry service. Lynne is happy but is mysterious in her want to learn weapons and martial skills so when Yang asks, 8-ball recants a story of Lynne’s family being brutally cut down by an outlaw Colonel and she as a 13 yr old girl left with a bullet wound in her back. The story moves Yang and he helps Lynne improve on her knife throwing and teaches her how to wield dual Tantos like a ninja girl. One day the outlaw returns and terrorizes the town only to be attacked by Lynne – thirsty for revenge and he leaves unscathed when her knife finds the wrong man.
This leads the entire town to start training and preparing for the inevitable revenge of the Colonel who was expected to return with hundreds of men. Yang discovers that the town drunk is actually a tormented ex-gunslinger who had lost his wife to his crimes and sobers him up to become a sniper. When the cowboys finally return, the town gives them hell but unexpectedly they are joined by Yang’s clansmen who travelled to find him and the last of their enemies – which forces Yang into a fight for his life and that of those who he now loved.
While this movie will not receive any awards for a brilliant story, it read, played out and looked very much like the comic books and graphic novels that I grew up on. This means instant love and if you are of the same stock as me you will want to see this on the big screen also. Kate Bosworth is an absolute show stealer throughout the movie being a strange blend of cute, sexy and goofy all in one act and Dong gun-Jang will win you over from the first time h unsheathes his cruel blade. The Warrior’s Way is a welcome addition to the many movies that dare go beyond reality in its visuals and I will be happy to add it to my collection.
P.S. Kate baby, please keep the red hair, it suits you more than you think.
Cinephile and opinion writer, Greg Dragon has been a fan of movies since the 80's when Kung Fu theater was all the rage and Roger Moore was James Bond. As an opinion writer that has reviewed Box Office releases on a number of prominent websites, Greg is the founder and lead critic of Spicy Movie Dogs.
