The Warrior (2001)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

the audience applauded

So much average

Brilliant and touching

1375. Nine Koryo knights are stranded in the middle of nowhere after a disastrous diplomatic mission. They have dozens of regular people along with them, and they need to get back home, through an andless desert. Peril and strife follow them all along the way, as they get to know each other. Then a woman appears.Aesthetically the movie is superb. All of the sets are created perfectly, the costumes are exquisite and the camera-work spot on. As is to be expected of modern korean drama, the actors portray heavy emotion and the plot is often melodramatic. Each one of the many characters is a metaphor representing something much larger than itself, often in satire of contemporary society. The storyline as a whole is an adaptation of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, with many parallels between personae between the two. See for yourself to decide who you think is who. Can you guess Teiresias?

It's my favorite eastern at this moment. From the more recent movies, I did like "Warlords" a lot too. But "Musa" (aka the Warrior) is on the top of my list. And if you go out and watch it (if you haven't already), then make sure, you watch the Korean cut and not the international cut. They seemed to think that western audiences do not need a few things. And as I have spoken to a Korean friend of mine, I got some info on some rituals and customs, I wasn't aware of.But even without that knowledge the movie does offer you a lot. Be it in the action department, in the story department and in the character development. It is not a coincidence, that this was the most expensive movie, when it got made, in the Asian market (I'm not sure, if this still holds up, or Warlords or any other movie broke that "record").Of course you have to be able to watch an Eastern. For some people this is like torture (I know a few friends of mine couldn't sit through the shorter international version of this). But I'm talking about people who do get Asian cinema and love it. If you are not into it, that's cool. Just don't watch this or turn it off, if you gave it a try. But if you have some spark for Eastern movies, this is the one to watch! Believe me!

The best epic drama so far, at least to my mind. Not "girlish" and not "clownish", to start with.There are at least two different types of historical/pseudo-historical dramas in Asian cinema. Type one: beautiful, with lots of CGI and/or wire-work, very romantic and sentimental with a bit of sexuality ("Crouching Tiger", "Hero", "Seven Swords", etc.). Type two: gritty, violent, dark, very reserved (concerning CGI and wires) with minimum or even none "female" sentimentality and "sexual innuendoes" (err... please, help me with the titles). This film is definitely of the second type.Well, forget it. I am just trying to pass for a "generalizing" scholar of the lowest degree. To put it in plain words, the first time I saw a few scenes out of the whole movie, I got amazed. This movie contains realistic and physically exhausting stunts. It has taciturn and tough characters submerged into a wild deadly race. And it does not try to squeeze tears out of soft viewers' hearts by any means. It all gripped me instantly. When I bought the DVD, I was still not very sure, thinking that maybe only some parts of this epic were good. Now, after watching the whole movie "from top to toe", I can write a comment and sign my opinion.If "Seven Swords" disillusioned me greatly, this one got right into my personal favourites. The strangest thing is that I don't know any of the actors/actresses (there is no Mr Jackie Chan or Mr Sammo Hung, no Mr Donnie Yen or Mr Jet Lee) but what they are doing without "over-the-top choreography" is real magic that can get into the heart. Now I am even thinking about re-rating of the other epic films, which were given the highest marks on my IMDb list.The transient nature of the movie has the power to enchant the viewer. A lasting stare full of hatred, a loving gaze, a powerful and very wisely used slow-motion, a long take representing a man running fast towards the overturned four-wheeler, a swift almost unnoticeable move of the fighter which results in a grisly death of the opponent, extensive use of gestures and face expressions instead of usual "blah-blah-blah", absence of superhuman powers and other nonsense so widely used in martial arts epics, a very engaging music theme, cruel battles, the reason for which may appear absolutely unimportant to the modern audience, charismatic characters on both sides, etc. All this makes up a unique film. I can't explain, why this massacre happens but I can feel why. This film is a kind of magic. Magic from the mighty East.I would definitely say "Thank you, I am 100% satisfied with Your film" to every woman and man, who are behind this production. Good job. Let the other glossy epics rest in their cosy places on IMDb top 250, to hell with them, - this one is on my personal top 100 list.In simple words my opinion is the following: "Seven Swords" sucks while "Musa" rocks. "Musa" is a poetical hymn to the creating power of self-denial and to the deepest human feelings. It is realistic and heavenly at the same time.There should be something wrong with the film. It can't be perfect, can it? Well, maybe the last song (when the credits are rolling already) does not sound very right. But it is a minor complaint that does not spoil the film to me.If only Korea were producing only this kind of cinema... Unfortunately, there exists disgusting "Oldboy", which is also on the top IMDb list. Shameful. And I totally agree with another reviewer that "Braveheart" is nowhere near this mastery.My favourite epic drama. 10 out of 10. Thank you for attention.

I dunno...Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood but this flix left me cold. Except for being a little more graphically gory then most I felt that plot and action was pretty generic: the super heroes, the beautiful haughty princess, yawn...It was actually even pretty funny how two of the main heroes, the slave and the general, both were seemingly cut down and dead only to be perfectly fit and slaughtering dozens just a few scenes after their fall. Man, their powers of recovery were amazing! Not a doctor around either. The heroic leads glared their way throughout this movie. I'd rather watch The Seven Samurai for the umpteeth time that waste my time on this movie.