Forget your painstakingly choreographed sword ballets and ludicrous wirework - this Korean period action epic owes as much to John Ford and Akira Kurosawa as it does to the Golden Harvest film company.
The story of a bunch of battered Korean soldiers battling their way home across the desert, The Warrior is brutal and beautiful in roughly equal measures. Performances are also strong, Crouching Tiger's Zhang Zi-Yi impressing as the princess around whom events pivot - yet still being outshone by the ensemble `peasants' who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for her. And each other. Worth seeking out.
DVD Extras:
Despite a few insider insights into Eastern filmmaking, martial-arts experts Bey Logan and Mike Leeder's commentary all too often drivels irritatingly away into crap in-gags. Remains a satisfyingly punchy package though, with assorted outtakes, deleted scenes and a solid Making Of filling out the second disc.
