“The Warrior’s Way” is an odd one. Wedged somewhere between the furious imaginations of Tsui Hark and Sergio Leone, the feature is an idiosyncratic ode to pure screen heroism thwarted by the junky instincts of its untested writer/director, Sngmoo Lee. I was never outright bored by the picture, but there’s much to jeer in this overwrought action film, which spends so much time reminding the audience of its artificiality, it forgets to have some spaghetti western fun with the limitless potential of CGI.
A brilliant swordsman for the Sad Flutes squad of assassins, Yang (Jang Dong-gun) has slaughtered most of his enemies, left with only a royal infant standing between him and military glory. Taking the young prince and fleeing the land, Yang heads to find a friend in the forgotten land of Lode, inhabited by broken circus folk, a town drunk (Geoffrey Rush), and a plucky would-be knife thrower named Lynne (Kate Bosworth). Welcomed by this motley crew, Yang begins to build a life with the kid, enchanting Lynne with his silent ways. Trouble comes in the form of disfigured tyrant The Colonel (Danny Huston), who’s come to terrorize Lode. When the community elects to fight back to protect their fallen town, a new threat joins the party when Yang’s army of highly trained warriors arrive, looking to kill the one who abandoned them.
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