War of the Arrows (2011)

Set during the second Manchu invasion of Korea, a lethal archer goes up against the Qing Dynasty to save his younger sister who was dragged away by invaders. Fans of kick-ass archery will be in heaven here. Both the protagonist and the antagonists use bows and arrows almost exclusively. The pacing is very fast, with the entire second half consisting of a footchase/shootout in a forest. Most of the action is grounded and realistic, with a few exceptions. Acting is solid too. Very exciting and totally entertaining.

"You're now Ja-in's father, you must take care of your sister until you die." After getting into an argument with his sisters fiancé Nam-Yi leaves his village before her wedding. When he returns he is told of the attack and kidnapping of his sister and sets out with his bow to get her back and exact revenge. As many of you may know I have never really been a big fan of these epic martial arts type movies. There have been a few I liked but not many. This one may be the best one I have seen since "Hero". This movie grabs you from the opening scene and is action packed and keeps you interested the entire time. The story and action are very well done and there is not a dull moment in this at all. There are some very brutal scenes in this but it's not over the top at all and it helps the story. For fans of this genre this is a must see. For those like me who can go either way this is still a movie that is very much worth watching. Overall, one of the best of this genre I have seen. I give it an A.

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This movie is very well done. The action is intense and riveting. From beginning to end, the movie will keep you glue to the screen. A rare telling of Manchurian attempted invasion of Korea.

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Without a doubt, WAR OF THE ARROWS is one of the finest period `actioners' I've seen in years; in fact, the last time I remember being this excited about a period adventure piece was probably CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. It's technically accomplished on a level with the best films that the cinema has to offer audiences. I understand from some of my reading on the film that WAR made buckets of money at the box office, and it's not hard to see why: it's a rousing adventure one with multiple heroes waging personal battles against obvious villains set at a breakneck pace, all coupled with a unique love story between a young couple as well as one between a brother and a sister.

The story begins in the heat of a battle Manchurian barbarians are raiding a mountain village where a young boy, Choi Nam-yi (played by Park Hae-il), tries to keep his sister, Choi Ja-in (played by Moon Chae-won) safe from all of the danger. Quickly, they're both rescued by their father, who implores his son to raise his sister as if he were her own daughter, before the elder archer is killed by the forces destroying their home. The siblings flee, and they're soon captured and taken in by a community of men and women. There, they find safety and grow into adults, with Nam-yi becoming a skilled archer and his sister destined to wed Kim Seo-gun (played by Kim Mu-yeol), the son of the group's leader. However, the Manchurian invaders eventually strike again, destroying the city and taking everyone hostage except Nam-yi, who escapes but soon arms himself with his deadly bow to rescue his people from the forces of evil.

WAR OF THE ARROWS is brilliantly structured. It combines popular textural elements of myth and fairy tale, feeling at times as though the story may've been lifted from a story book, and sets those elements up against the harsh, grim reality of born out of foreign occupation. The innocent are captured, their spirit broken, their villages destroyed, and the victors play incessantly torturous tricks on them, dashing all of their hopes of finding peace or complacency again. As an audience, you cheer their inevitable comeuppance once our hero sets his lone bow against theirs, becoming a kind of unstoppable, medieval `Dirty Harry.' All he wants to do is save his sister, but, before it's all said and done, he's liable to save an entire people from being destroyed. Along the way, he finds a few companions, and, together, they brave the odds to put right what's been torn away from them. It's the kind of film that's best seen with a crowd a collective experience to hiss at the scoundrels and cheer on the heroes.

Well Go USA's presentation is sharp and crisp as the colors pop and there's very little grain to distract from the entire film. There's a sequence with a short action sequence involving a tiger (a narrative `loop' from a part early in the film's story to later events) that involves some less-than-stellar CGI composition that could've used another brush or two from the special effects department, but it's a forgivable sin as any reasonable person can understand and appreciate the danger of having a live animal attacking live actors onscreen. Also, I think it's worth noting that there's some exceptional editing throughout WAR; the pacing especially during the action sequences, of which there are many is superb and tight. Additionally, there are some unique tricks with sound worked on the film's track the film is replete with sequences involving several archers that keep the viewers interest and elevate the storytelling to accomplished levels.

Sadly, the disc comes with very few extras. There's a short, basic `making of' snippet it plays out like a featurette and doesn't really offer any revealing information, feeling more like an ad piece. Given the fact that the story deals with moments of history between Korea and Manchuria, I would've liked to have known more; sure, I can always Google or Wiki some additional information, but it would've been nice, at least, to have some basic direction of where to begin researching some of this period on my own as I'm a history junkie when it comes to stories tied to history like WAR OF THE ARROWS is. Better luck next time, producers! Give us more than just an A+ story!

Highest recommendation

In the interests of fairness, I'm pleased to share that the kind folks at Well Go USA provided me with a screener copy of WAR OF THE ARROWS for the purposes of completing this review.

Want War of the Arrows (2011) Discount?

Having seen news reports that interest in archery has dramatically increased since the release of "The Hunger Games," I would suggest that "War Of The Arrows," would start an archery epidemic. Comparing the two films is like arguing that "Dumb and Dumber" is better than "The Godfather." One is simple (not to suggest stupidity) and the other is complex (without being difficult to understand).

If archery is your thing, "The War Of The Arrows" will completely satisfy that hunger. If you want nothing more than a great entertainment, you will not regret the time invested.

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