Review of The Warrior's Way (2010) by Steve W — 11 Nov 2013

A mysterious stranger enters a Wild West town. He is secretly the greatest swordsman in the world, looking to settle down for a quiet life. He leads the suppressed people of the small town against a vicious tyrant, and also must deal with the assassins he was once a part of.

The biggest flaw of The Warrior's Way would be that it was made on a small budget. If the movie were made with real sets and actual fight scenes, it would definitely improve the whole picture. The cast is pretty solid and the story line is decent, but the movie suffers from poor fight scenes and weird looking green screen.

The first half of the movie is all character development. Yang is the main character, the greatest swordsman in the world. Instead of killing the infant Queen of a rival clan, he takes her to America instead, with his brother assassins after him all the way. In America, Yang meets a rooting tooting tough lady with a tragic back story, and her quest for vengeance against the scarred Colonel, a vicious tyrant who tried to rape her and killed her family.

Once the action kicks in, things get interesting. Its only when the ninjas arrive does the movie grind to startling halt. One would think the incredible ninja assassins would decimate the Colonel's motley crew of gunmen, but the ninjas are practically cannon fodder and are way too easily dispatched.

After most of the villains are dead, Yang must confront his former teacher, Saddest Flute (played by the great Ti Lung). Instead of an actual incredible fight scene, we are treated to a quick flashback and then its over. If the movie had better fight scenes, it would make up for all the weird looking green screen. Unfortunately it doesn't, with uninteresting ninja baddies that get taken down way too easily. I feel this film is a waste of a great cast, simply because it was the director/writer's first time.