The Warrior's Way (2010)

A warrior-assassin is forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands after refusing a mission.

Director:

Sngmoo Lee

Writer:

Sngmoo Lee

Stars:

Dong-Gun Jang, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dong-Gun Jang	...	Yang
Kate Bosworth	...	Lynne
Geoffrey Rush	...	Ronald
Danny Huston	...	Colonel
Tony Cox	...	Eight-Ball
Lung Ti	...	Saddest Flute
Analin Rudd	...	Baby April
Markus Hamilton	...	Baptiste
Rod Lousich	...	Craig
Matt Gillanders	...	Geyser
Christina Asher	...	Esmerelda
Jed Brophy	...	Jacques
Carl Bland	...	Billy
Ian Harcourt	...	Lofty
Tony Wyeth	...	Smithy

Storyline

Yang, the world's finest swordsman, packs it in and leaves Japan to find an old friend in the Wild West rather than kill the infant queen of a rival clan. He carries the baby to his friend's desolate, broken-down town; the friend has died, so Yang reopens a laundry and settles down, hanging wet clothes, growing flowers, raising the infant, and finding himself attracted to Lynne, a red-haired woman with a tragic past. As long as Yang keeps his sword sheathed, his rivals won't find him, but a band of reprobate gunmen terrorize the town and threaten Lynne. Showdowns are inevitable, but once the sword is drawn, can Yang find rest, a home, and a family?

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Plot Keywords:

assassin | 19th century | throwing a knife | bullet time | explosion | 

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Taglines:

A Hero Will Stand

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

The painting in the saloon is a parody of Edouard Manet's famous "Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe" (itself a copy of Raimondi's engraving "The Judgment of Paris"), with the setting changed to the prairies, and buffaloes and tepees in the background.

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Goofs

The fish used to stab the assassin in the eye at the end of the movie is a species of the genus Hemiramphus, also known as garfish, half-beaks or ballyhoo. These fish occur only in warm temperature and tropical waters. They are not found in polar or sub-polar regions.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ronald: Okay, you settled down? You got your ears open?
[clears throat]
Ronald: This is the story of the sad flute, a laughing baby, a weeping sword. A long long time ago, in a land far far away, there lived a warrior. A warrior with empty eyes.

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Connections

Referenced in Movie Friends - Eine Videothek stellt sich vor (2013)

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Soundtracks

D'amor sull'ali rosee
from 'Il Trovatore'
Written by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Maria Callas and the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala (as Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala)
Conducted by Herbert von Karajan
Courtesy of EMI Music Italy
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Stylized action flick that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Debutant director and screen writer Sngmoo Lee took a big gamble with this one, as you will see why. In an almost Quintin Tarantino styled narration, the prologue introduces us to Yang (Jang Dong-Gun) and his mission to become 'The World's Greatest Swordsman…Ever'. He does so, within the first five minutes of the movie, by vanquishing an entire enemy clan; all but one…an infant princess. Rather than thrusting his Samurai sword through the toddler, Yang has a change of heart and decides to head West, because sooner or later, his own clan will hunt him down for not finishing the job. Arriving at a desolate town rife with down and out circus freaks, Yang finds work in an old Laundromat. Before long, he befriends 8-Ball, a wise cracking midget (Tony Cox), Ron, a hopeless drunk (Geoffrey Rush) and the sassy knife throwing Lynne (Kate Bosworth). With the infant in safe custody, Yang learns of Ron and Lynne's tragic past. An ex-bank robber, Ron laid down his guns at the wish of his dying wife. Lynne on the other hand, watched her family brutally murdered by an outlaw called 'Colonel'. Even as Yang blends in with the town folk, he realizes that a storm is approaching; a storm dark enough to wipe out the entire town.

Produced by Barrie M Osborne, you would expect this film to have the same grandeur as his previous productions, most notably, THE MATRIX and THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. In fact, the opening sequence is interesting enough to grab your attention. What follows in the middle is a dialogue based drama that has a very theatre production feel to it. However, it's the last 20 minutes that has all the action that we are promised in the beginning. But is it worth the wait? In high definition, close-ups of flying bullets and blood rinsed blades look cool. Ninjas floating in and out of the action add an extra oomph, complemented by an equally engrossing soundtrack. Director Lee was also prudent enough to not leak out the best moments in pre-release trailers. But at the end of it all, if you enjoyed Zack Snyder's carnage in 300, don't go expecting anything better in this film. Sure, one particular scene even has the protagonist slicing and dicing a hoard of endless enemies in a fashion similar to those six-packed Greek warriors, but that's about all the comparison you can make to 300. Lee is generous with scenes of blood splatter towards the end, but manages to keep guts and gore to a minimum. Special effects vary in depth as well as quantity, and so you never get too much or too little of it. Perhaps that has all to do with the pacing of the plot. This is precisely where Lee could have done better. In terms of the pace, what I got was an interesting opening sequence, followed by a slow mid-section, only to be concluded by an intense yet rushed ending. While other critics might support Lee's pacing with "character building", this reviewer is opinionated by the fact that action movies do not deliver a knockout punch if action itself is inconsistently paced.

Playing the titled character, Dong-gun is no Jet Li, nor Jackie Chan; maybe because this is not a kung-fu movie. But what level of acting can you expect from Dong-gun, when he does a lot of the talking with just his facial expressions while relying on some fancy moves to do the rest? Having said that, whoever says Jet Li or Jackie Chan can act must be a really big fan of either or both. Opposite Dong-gun is Kate Bosworth in a role that easily outdoes her Lois Lane from SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006). Vibrant, cheeky, and energetic, this has to be one of Bosworth's best performances to date. Then there is Geoffrey Rush of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN fame. Although given little screen time, Rush does steal some of Dong-gun's miserly thunder and plays a key role towards the end. Also worth mentioning is Danny Huston as (one) of the bad guys, while ironically also offering some of the film's lighter moments.

So there you have it. THE WARRIOR'S WAY has its moments, good and bad, watchable or otherwise. If you overlook the slow pace in-between (during what seems like forever) and the lead actor's lack of emotion or enthusiasm (he is an assassin anyway), then Sngmoo Lee could be given the benefit of the doubt for an otherwise decent action flick, inclusive of some exceptional cinematography.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

New Zealand South Korea

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Laundry Warrior

Filming Locations:

Henderson Valley Studios, Hickory Avenue, Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$42,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,048,665, 5 December 2010

Gross USA:

$5,666,340

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,103,434

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rogue, Boram Entertainment, Wellmade Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1