Review of The Warrior's Way (2010) by Frank D — 18 Jul 2012

Having succeeded at the challenge of becoming the world's greatest swordsman, Yang(Dong-gun Jang) seeks an even greater challenge, namely that of raising an infant girl. His bosses now aim to kill him, not so much for his wanting to adopt a child but because he did not kill all of his enemies' families when he had the chance. Fleeing, they end up in a small town in the American west where Yang's friend is long gone. That's okay says Lynne(Kate Bosworth). She'll teach him how to do the laundry in exchange for him teaching her how to throw knives.

"The Warrior's Way" manages the unenviable task of being simultaneously humdrum, cartoonish and over the top, with a threat of sexual violence thrown in for good measure. To start, mixing genres is not a bad idea, really; it's mixing plots that's the problem here. And while I applaud any man of violence finding his inner gardener, since Yang has to do something to occupy his time until 7000 bad guys show up, it is something of a slog to watch, though. Yes, the movie has a distinct look with the ferris wheel dominating what there is of the skyline but the CGI all but ruins the mood which is already suffering from the awkward and painful attempts at humor. So, while Kate Bosworth is involved in the movie's sole moment of grace, her performance as the Annie Oakley of sharp pointy things is grating to say the least. Now, if someone could please explain to me what Geoffrey Rush is supposed to be doing here, I'll be very happy.