Review of Warriors of Virtue (1997) by Michael A — 08 May 2007

Man oh man, did this movie bring back memories. For the longest time, I didn't know what this movie was called. I had rented it several years ago, back when I was a kid, and I remembered loving it.

I was describing it to a friend of mine who was a big movie buff on the off chance that he would know the name of it, and it turns out that not only did he know the name of it--he had it. So I borrowed it, and watched it again.

It was pretty much every bit as good as I thought it was the first time. Yeah, it's a kids' movie. If you're expecting anything adult, you're going to be disappointed (with the exception of a few surprisingly crude jokes).

However, this movie has a depth and sophistication a lot of kids' movies doesn't have. There's meaning behind all the silliness. I read on IMDB that this movie was actually made to metaphorically explain the basics of Taoism to young kids.

Whether that's true or not, it's still an awesome movie, and one that kids will surely get a kick out of. I've also read some reviews that say that this is a cheap TMNT knock-off. And that's partly true.

..it is basically TMNT with kangaroos...but there are some differences. Mainly, the fight choreography in this movie is fucking awesome...it's something akin to what you would see in old kung fu movies.

And while this movie does have a similar feel-good family movie message, I believe it does a better job of communicating it in a more mature, less corny kind of way. Some of the story's a bit lacking, but hey, it's a kids' movie, and a kids' movie that kicks major ass.

Four virtuous stars.