Dynasty Warriors

This is a bombastic, over-stylized, self indulgent movie. Dynasty Warriors is an action-fantasy movie based on the video game series that gets so lost in the explanations and backstories, there somehow isn't that much action. The action that isn't summarized away through voice-overs and character dialogue filled with pompous laughter that quickly grows tiresome doesn't really convey any sense of excitement or suspense, as so much of it is obviously CGI. The closest the movie gets to action and tension is when a group of warlords lose to the third bad guy in command in one-on-one combat with swords, battle axes, and spears, inevitably resulting in the warlords losing their heads as they arc across the sky and land where the remaining warlords fearfully wait. The climactic battle scene, as frenzied and electrified with special effects as it is, feels surprisingly dissatisfying, as does the ending.

There's a moment in the movie where a character says through voice-over, "Things are finally getting interesting." It speaks volumes that even a character would say this about the story they're in, at a point when we're far enough along into the movie. That it doesn't really get interesting is almost beside the point. Moments of action are replaced with so much telling instead of showing, interspersed with pompous dialogue between the characters about, say, the meanings of verities like "loyalty" and "honor." There's also a scene with a suicidal woman connected to the main bad guy who meets the most powerful warrior in the bad guy's army that ultimately doesn't really go anywhere and feels downright clunky, even if perhaps it's a story thread intended to be in the hinted at sequel. If there is a sequel, here's hoping they focus more on action instead of summary, and character development instead of debates about stuff like "power" and "friendship."