Review: The Warrior’s Way

Does a movie about a martial artist automatically qualify as a martial arts movie? That’s the question I have after viewing The Warrior’s Way, which is equal parts action, comedy, and drama. Sure, the ninja are out in full force, and there’s quite a bit of swordplay to watch. The main draw of the film, ninja-on-cowboy action, should be enough to make this, well, the most badass thing ever. But it isn’t, just like nearly every similar attempt. 

Instead, this is an incredibly bizarre film that doesn’t at all turn out how it was billed. It is nearly as surreal as a Tarsem Singh film with nearly as many tonal shifts as Full Metal Jacket. This should work to its advantage, but the movie contains just as many rapid leaps in quality as it does in tone, and the result leaves the viewer with far too many mixed emotions.

Does a movie about a martial artist automatically qualify as a martial arts movie? That's the question I have after viewing The Warrior's Way, which is equal parts action, comedy, and drama. Sure, the ninja are out in full force, and there's quite a bit of swordplay to watch. The main draw of the film, ninja-on-cowboy action, should be enough to make this, well, the most badass thing ever. But it isn't, just like nearly every similar attempt. 

Instead, this is an incredibly bizarre film that doesn't at all turn out how it was billed. It is nearly as surreal as a Tarsem Singh film with nearly as many tonal shifts as Full Metal Jacket. This should work to its advantage, but the movie contains just as many rapid leaps in quality as it does in tone, and the result leaves the viewer with far too many mixed emotions.{{page_break}}

The most apparent problem with The Warrior's Way is in its basic premise, which fails to rise above a very basic story archetype. The warrior sets out on a mission of death but doesn't complete it because a baby is so cute that he doesn't want to kill anymore. So he tries to escape his past, but of course it follows him. Just put in a western town full of circus freaks and you have the basic gist of the film. 

About that setting: the circus western town actually works better in the film than you might think it would. No, it doesn't make any sense, and the first time you see the clown and bearded-lady inhabitants it's hard to resist an awkward shift in your seat, but these moments help to distract the viewer from the otherwise apparent normality of the story. When the cowboys and swordfighters finally do battle, the film has at least set that up to be one of the less ridiculous things that the film offers.

Because of the inherent ludicrousness of the film, there are some laughs to be had, and the film wisely takes advantage of them. There is a great number of "WTF" laughs in the film where something so silly or weird happens that you can't help but laugh out loud. At times, you may wonder if you're laughing with the film or laughing at it, but it's enjoyable either way.

But the action aspects of the film are terribly disappointing. This is really not a martial arts film, and despite the presence of the world's greatest swordsman, you're not going to see any good fighting here. Most fight scenes are green screen abominations that boil down to the main character slicing multiple people up in a few seconds. There's really only one fight that suggests any semblance of artistry, and even it could be experienced in a university stage fighting class. 

But even the action can't reach the low level of this film's dramatic scenes, which go so far into the realm of cliche that you'll wonder how the actors got through them. The most overdramatic lines are delivered with a sense of urgency that can only suggest that the film actually believes them to be good, which only makes the audience groan with more fervor. Whenever the film strives to achieve drama, it takes multiple steps backward in its pursuit to engage the audience. 

The Warrior's Way is so close to the border of strange pleasure and complete disaster that it's difficult to know what side of the border it actually occupies. However, there's some genuine enjoyment to be had out of the movie — just not the kind of enjoyment you might be expecting. It's bizarre and funny without being a spoof, and it's full of violent swordplay without really focusing on martial arts. But every time one of its actors delivers a candidate for year's worst line of dialogue, you're reminded that this just isn't a good movie.

Overall Score: 5.20 – Bad. (5s are movies that either failed at reaching the goals it set out to do, or didn’t set out to do anything special and still had many flaws. Some will enjoy 5s, but unless you’re a fan of this genre, you shouldn’t see it, and might not even want to rent it.)  

I'll tell you this now: The Warrior's Way is not what you're expecting. Far from a martial arts movie, it is best described as a surreal action comedy drama about a swordsman trying to make a life in the American West. The life he makes, however, doesn't make for a very good movie.

Tom Fronczak:

Overall Score: 4.60 — I don’t care how many homages to old films it may have included, a terrible movie is a terrible movie. I’ve seen decades old anime before that does everything this movie does far better in every way. The Warrior’s Way gets no respect from me, and unless you’re the type who loves really old assassin movies AND likes the cheese, then I advise you to stay far away from this mess. You can read his full review here!

Sean Walsh:

Overall Score: 8.35 — This movie charmed me. I went in expecting a generic experience and got much more than I bargained for. There’s sword fighting, gun slinging, limb severing, Kate Bosworth in a very sexy period outfit, and a cast that will surprise you. The climactic three-way battle alone was worth the price of admission. You can read his full review here!