Review of Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale - Part 1: The Sun Flag (2011) by Robert H — 18 Aug 2012

Though the cover clearly stated Braveheart with a nod to The Last of the Mohicans, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to see just how much like those two films Warriors of the Rainbow is and yet, very different at the same time.

The film is full of action, brutal, brutal action complete with decapitations so action fans should easily get something from this. It's also educational as it tells a piece of Japanese/Taiwanese history that I didn't know about.

Where the film falters is in the fact that it tries to do too much. There are so many tribes, so many events, and most are given equal importance in the film making it difficult to distinguish who's doing what and when. Add on a weird side story between the leader of the rebels Mouna Rudo and a long time tribal enemy/friend and you find the film getting distracted at times as it strays from the main story to add little bits of information to this side story... but the side story didn't need to be told.

Warriors of the Rainbow had plenty of problems and it's a miracle it ever got finished which may explain some of the problems but one thing is certain, the scale of the picture is massive and yet it still manages to deliver a high level of drama and feeling of loss.