The Warrior's Way

Movie review by Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media
The Warrior's Way Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 16+

Cartoonishly violent fusion of martial arts and Westerns.

R 2010 100 minutes
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Parents say

age 15+

Based on 1 review

Kids say

age 10+

Based on 3 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this action-packed movie -- which blends elements of Westerns and Asian martial arts movies -- is brimming with cartoonish violence. There's lots of fighting with swords, knives, and guns, plus spraying blood and plenty of dead bodies -- but it's all done without any real sense of danger. Some of the violence (less bloody but still potentially upsetting) is directed toward a young girl and a woman. The hero and heroine flirt and kiss (and she uses a low-cut dress to help her seduce a bad guy), and one character is presented as a comical town drunk. Language is infrequent and includes a few uses of words like "s--t" and "damn."

Community Reviews

khan2705
khan2705 Adult
December 10, 2010
age 15+

Extremely dull and poorly written and directed silly flick.

The world's greatest swordsman abandons his warrior clan to start a new life in the American Badlands in THE WARRIOR'S WAY, a visually dazzling modern martial arts adventure with stunningly choreographed fight sequences and gravity-defying stunts. In an original, gorgeously realized journey into a mythical past, writer and director Sngmoo Lee seamlessly marries the cinematic traditions of East and West. Korean superstar Jang Dong Gun, Kate Bosworth, Danny Huston and Academy Award-winner Geoffrey Rush star in this epic story of revenge and redemption. i was not gonna watch this movie but it was available free so i thought i will watch it, a silly entertainer. but when i did it wasn't even silly to entertain i mean totally (sorry to say this but) rubbish. i am a great fan of these Ninja or Kung Fu or those Chinese, Japanese, far east movies with all these flying fighters like Hero or some other movie. they are epic like, visually stunning and great but one totally falls flat not just in writing or directing but in the visual department as well. i was not expecting any thing from this movie so i am not that disappointed. first of all this Ninja meets Western combination was crazy and strange but sounded well. it would have worked too if they have shown a decent place. the visual effects are very dumb and pretty bad. it seems like a C grade movie. which i hate. the fighting scenes are somewhat good though. Direction of this movie is very poor. extremely badly written screenplay. a complete hollow and empty screenplay. many flaws in writing and directing departments. Dong gun Jang looks very handsome and good in his character, though i can't tell about his acting ability that well. but he looks good. Kate Bosworth was good in her character but kind of annoying. Geoffrey Rush is barely in the movie. i missed him in it. he is all that drunk man/shooter. its a complete no brainer and silly Ninja meets western kind of action flick, its very annoying, dull if not boring. the fighting scenes were not that gory which i liked. even visually poor. please Skip it guys.

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What's the Story?

A skilled swordsman succeeds in wiping out the last of his enemies -- almost. The only one remaining is a baby. Invoking the wrath of his own clansmen, he decides to spare the baby and head for "Lode," a Western town where an old friend once lived. There he meets Lynne (Kate Bosworth), who dubs him "Skinny." He also befriends "8 Ball" (Tony Cox) and the town drunk (Geoffrey Rush), opens a laundry, and learns to fit in. Unfortunately, his enemies are still on the hunt for him. Not to mention that Lynne has an enemy of her own, the sadistic Colonel (Danny Huston), who once murdered her entire family. Can "Skinny" keep his violent past from intruding on his newfound, peaceful, happy life?

Is It Any Good?

The American-educated Korean filmmaker Sngmoo Lee makes his directorial debut with THE WARRIOR'S WAY, and it's a great deal of fun. It pairs up Korean and American stars, as well as the martial arts and Western genres (though it's definitely better versed in the former than in the latter). The result is slick, brisk, and entertaining, although some audiences may be unsettled by the presence of a baby in the midst of all the violence, as well as brief violent acts committed against a young girl.

Jang Dong-gun (previously seen in Chen Kaige's The Promise) turns in an appealingly low-key, stoic performance, and he's nicely matched by the high power of his American co-stars, especially the spunky Bosworth, who has never been better. Lee draws from a number of genre conventions, but he does so with cheerful self-awareness and mixes them all together with a kind of infectious glee. His action sequences are clear and snappy, with the ante forever being upped for the unbelievably explosive climax.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the movie's extreme violence. How did it affect you? Was any of it disturbing? Thrilling? Why do you think violent scenes can provoke both kinds of reaction?

  • What impact does it have on viewers that the movie is presented in such a cartoonish, rather than realistic, way? Does that make any of the action scenes seem less intense?

  • Is the hero correct in thinking that everything close to him will be destroyed? Would it be worth the risk to find out?

Movie Details

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