The Warrior's Way is a fun action piece that outside the ending, doesn't worry about doing action scene after action scene. Dong-gun Jang does typical ninja stuff but here it feels fun and not a drag. Geoffrey Rush does ok with his short time and he could of been expanded a bit more. It's definitely nice to see Kate Bosworth get back to the scene here and she does a good job. The film does start out a bit slow but once it hits its stride it's a great ride until the end. Nothing out there, but solid fun. **1/2

I've had no interest in this but the reviews I've read actually make it seem kind of fun. I wouldn't mind seeing it.

An entertaining genre mash up, with references to Rashomon, Django, Aliens, and god knows what else. This New Zealand-production plants a Southeast Asian martial arts/green-screened American death cinema flag into 19th-century Australia.

Cowboys vs. ninjas in 1800s Australia is an inherently goofy concept. If seeing a clown shoot a ninja makes you roll your eyes, leave it. If it makes you grin, and you're not above phantasmal green screens and emotional manipluation, then I would totally suggest seeing it!

December 2010. A period film co-starring the venerable Geoffrey Rush. No, not The King's Speech, but rather The Warrior's Way, a very strange film which, at times, amuses with its hyperactive, cartoon-esque blend of stylized martial arts action, dusty Western production design, and surreal artificiality (the film uses lots and lots of CGI to mimic the claustrophobic feel of a low-budget, shot-indoors '40s movie you might see at 3am on Encore Westerns, albeit with splashes of vivid colors). More often, though, the film is simply exhausting and frustrating.

South Korean actor Jang Dong Gun stars as Yang, 'the greatest swordsman in the history of mankind...ever' (no, seriously, this subtitle appears on the screen). As the film begins, he's completely decimated an opposing clan, except one baby girl, whom he is unwilling to harm. He flees to America with her in tow and his master (Ti Lung) and an army of warriors in hot pursuit. This all happens in the first three or four minutes, as if the movie is in a rush.

Yang finds his way to an out-of-the-way frontier town populated by circus performers, a mangy town drunk (Rush), and a fetching young woman who knows her way around a knife (Kate Bosworth). The film follows a predictable course: Yang, of course, begins to feel at home and come out of his shell. He starts a laundry, plants a garden, bonds with the Bosworth character, etc., etc., until his past comes knocking, etc., etc. You know the drill.

I've hit a bit of a wall with this type of movie. It's almost become a genre: Too Much Damn Greenscreen. The Warrior's Way is pure weightless style; there is always an obvious disconnect between the characters and their environment, the laws of physics are nonexistent, and anything real--locations, emotions--is jettisoned in favor of wink, wink "coolness." Sure, director Sngmoo Lee musters a couple very badass shots, but there's nothing else on his mind besides the nerdy possibilities of his cut-rate digital playground.

The screenplay, also by Lee, is hilariously bad. Rush's nearly constant narration has become grating a few minutes in and is torture to endure by the end. Why the Oscar-winning actor is even in this is a mystery. How big was the paycheck? It plays to his worst, hammiest instincts. In full-on gee-shucks mode, Bosworth, too, embarrasses herself, overplaying every character beat. A few years ago she was set to be an A-list star. Where did it all go wrong? As for Jang Dong Gun, he has maybe ten lines in the whole movie (despite a fine grasp of English). His performance is all dark, thousand-yard stares. Dull.

There might eventually be a (very small) appreciate audience for this kooky East-West hybrid, which grossed just 5 mil. in theatres nationwide last year. Ardent fans of Zack Snyder's style of filmmaking (i.e. people who enjoyed the despicable Sucker Punch) in particular may find several pleasures here. I, however, simply wanted it to end already.

C-