The Warrior's Way
Encyclopedia
The Warrior's Way is a 2010 fantasy
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...

 action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...

 starring South Korean actor Jang Dong-gun
Jang Dong-gun
-Early life:Spending his childhood in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, he later went on to the Korea National University of Arts, dropping out before obtaining a degree.-Career:Jang Dong-gun first entered the entertainment world in a talent contest in 1992...

, Kate Bosworth
Kate Bosworth
Catherine Ann "Kate" Bosworth is an American actress. Bosworth starred in the television series Young Americans, in which she played Bella Banks. She became known with a leading role in 2002's Blue Crush. The following year, Bosworth played the teenage girlfriend of porn star John Holmes in...

, Geoffrey Rush
Geoffrey Rush
Geoffrey Roy Rush is an Australian actor and film producer. He is one of the few people who has won the "Triple Crown of Acting": an Academy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award. He has won one Academy Award for acting , three British Academy Film Awards , two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen...

, Danny Huston
Danny Huston
-Early life:Huston was born in Rome, Italy. He hails from the illustrious Huston acting and filmmaking dynasty. He is the son of legendary director John Huston, half-brother of actress Anjelica Huston and screenwriter Tony Huston, uncle of actor Jack Huston, stepbrother of Allegra Huston, and...

, and Tony Cox. The film was written and directed by Sngmoo Lee, and it was produced by Barrie Osborne, who also produced Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...

.

The film was released on December 3, 2010.

Synopsis

In the 19th century, a warrior named Yang (Jang Dong Gun) is ordered to kill the last member of an enemy clan—a baby. He refuses the mission and flees with the child to a dilapidated town in the American West. Despite his attempts, his enemies close in on him and he must fight to protect the child and his newfound comrades: Ron (Geoffrey Rush
Geoffrey Rush
Geoffrey Roy Rush is an Australian actor and film producer. He is one of the few people who has won the "Triple Crown of Acting": an Academy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award. He has won one Academy Award for acting , three British Academy Film Awards , two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen...

), the town drunk, and Lynne (Kate Bosworth
Kate Bosworth
Catherine Ann "Kate" Bosworth is an American actress. Bosworth starred in the television series Young Americans, in which she played Bella Banks. She became known with a leading role in 2002's Blue Crush. The following year, Bosworth played the teenage girlfriend of porn star John Holmes in...

), both of whom have a tragic past.

Plot

In 19th century Asia, Yang is a warrior and member of the Sad Flutes clan, the cruelest assassins in the world. His personal goal to become the greatest swordsman in the entire world is accomplished when he kills the former greatest swordsman and leader of the enemy clan. Both clans swore to fight until every single member of the opposing clan was dead. Yang has killed every member, except a baby girl he comes upon, spares and decides to watch over. This act makes Yang a sworn enemy of his own clan, and is not safe in his homeland.

Yang burns his home and most all of his belongings, taking the baby and his sword on a boat to the west. He arrives in Lode, a small, dusty, town, where the main attraction used to be a carnival. Unused and battered carnival rides are scattered, while a huge, unfinished ferris wheel looms above. There he seeks out a fellow rogue warrior friend known to the townsfolk as Smiley. Yang discovers Smiley died 3 years ago, but ran the town's laundry shop. Among the townspeople Yang meets, he is introduced to the gang of friendly carnies led by dwarf Eight-Ball, Ron, the vagrant drunk and Lynne, a spunky young woman who was friends with Smiley.

Lynne gives Yang the nickname Skinny and agrees to teach him how to do the laundry. Yang begins to enjoy his life in the town, learning to enjoy pleasures he never knew as a warrior. He becomes friendly with the people, a hard worker, and able gardener, while the baby dubbed April, is adored by all. He even finds an interest in opera, after Lynne shows him on a gramophone. Lynne reveals to Yang that Smiley taught her both a little bit of the sword and the Sad Flute clan. She wants Yang to teach her more, and asks about the Sad Flutes' name. He explains that it describes the sound of blood coming from your victim's slit throat, but he is reluctant to show any of his warrior skill. Back in the East, Yang's former clan is shown to be looking for him. His former master Saddest Flute and his ninja army take the same boat to America, the whole crew shown to be slain. Saddest Flute states that to find Yang in such a large country, they would wait and listen.

Yang one day sees Lynne place flowers on a grave, and asks Eight-Ball what happened. He explains in a flashback, that years ago, when Lynne was an adolescent girl, the town came under siege by a corrupt Colonel. His preference to rape women with healthy teeth prompts him to choose Lynne as his victim while her father is held to the ground, and mother and baby brother forced to stand by. When Lynne is brought to the Colonel in a kitchen, she manages to evade him by throwing a pan of potatoes frying in grease on his face. She runs outside, and the Colonel shoots her through the chest. Her father struggles free and is shot dead by the Colonel, while her mother holding her brother runs over and both are also killed.

When the townsfolk buried her family, they found Lynne still breathing. Since then, Lynne has made revenge on the Colonel a priority, aching to learn to fight and kill, and practices throwing knives, at which she her aim is lacking. Yang surprises Lynne by showing her that her knife throwing was prohibited by her sight, not her arm, and gives her a successful lesson by blindfolding her. Lynne is clearly fond of Yang, and gives him a charm on a necklace that belonged to her mother, as a present.

Moved by Lynne's story, Yang gives her 2 scythe knives, telling her they are for defense, not killing. He tutors her out in the desert on how to use them, and she eventually becomes skilled. He shows her his katana, but Lynne notes it is welded to its scabbard. Yang explains it is so his past cannot hear the sound of the lives he has taken, and if his past finds him, there will be no more music. In a flashback, it is shown as a young boy, Yang was given a present of a small puppy from his master, and was being trained to become the strongest.

Yang continues living his life peacefully with April until he experiences his first Christmas. While the townspeople celebrate the holiday dancing, Yang and Lynne go out to the desert to 'dance' in their swordplay, ending in a stalemate where Yang tells Lynne she has not won until her enemy's heart stops. Lynne kisses Yang on the mouth, catching him totally off guard and stopping time. Lynne runs away smiling at him, and Yang sits down shocked, staring at his lips in his swords' reflection.

Back in town, the Colonel has returned to the town to terrorize the people. He now wears a frightening face prosthetic to hide the grotesque scar from the hot grease. The colonel tortures a clown by having his men shoot at a bucket of water on the Clown's head, and is about to have them shoot at a glass of whiskey when Ron the drunk takes the shot glass and drinks it. Ron is dragged through the town by a whip around his neck pulled by horse. The Colonel then inspects a lineup of women for their teeth, and chooses a hispanic woman whose husband begs for mercy. The Colonel releases the woman to her husband to shoot them simultaneously.

Eight-Ball and the other carnies tie Lynne up in a cellar for her own good as well as the people. Yang removes her blades, agreeing with the carnies. Lynne manages to free herself with a concealed knife in her boot. The Colonel has the hispanic woman's daughters cleaned to be raped, but Lynne, disguised as a prostitute offers herself instead. She fools the Colonel, thinking she will be able to kill him when he reveals he recognized her after smelling her neck. The Colonel's men rush in to hold Lynne down to the bed. Back in the laundry, the carnies run in looking for Lynne, and Yang realizes where she is. He grabs an iron and shatters the seal on his sword to free it. Far away, Saddest Flute jerks up from meditation, sensing the seal break, and is aware of Yang's location.

Just as she is about to be raped, Yang bursts in through the window, expertly and easily slaying everyone in the room but Lynne and the Colonel. As Yang turns to kill him, Lynne intercedes that she will do it, but the Colonel grabs her and leaps out the other window, using her to break his fall. The Colonel runs down an alley to escape. Lynne sees him fleeing on a horse and shuts her eyes to deliver an expert knife throw to the back of his head. The town folk pull off the prosthetic to reveal a lackey of the Colonel, now especially scared that he will return with an army of outlaws to kill them all. Yang is about to leave town before the Sad Flutes come for him, but the townsfolk implore him to stay and help.

The people are worried they don't have the means to defend their town, but Eight-Ball has Ron's secret stash of guns and explosives unburied. Ron is shown to be an expert marksman, shooting a bowling pin down amidst his best liquor from hundreds of feet away. Yang asks Ron while preparing why Ron stopped shooting. Ron explains that he was once an outlaw, using his great skill to rob banks, and trains. His criminal career ended when the woman he loved was shot during a gunfight, and he vowed to never pick up a gun again, until that day. Ron advises for men like him and Yang, the best thing they could do for the ones they loved was stay as far away from them as possible, that they are like flowers while he and Yang are sand. The day before battle, Lynne comes to Yang and asks to leave with him after the fight, and to think on it. Later that night, Yang comes to Lynne's house. He gives her his own twin short swords, explaining these were to kill. Yang tells her to come close. He caresses the side of her face, her neck, and ends at her heart, saying to remember these places; that they are the fastest way to kill your enemy. Lynne reciprocates the gesture and says she will remember.

The day comes and the Colonel arrives with scores of outlaws to charge the town. Yang stands across his flower garden, waiting. As the men approach, they are met with explosions. From miles away in the top ferris wheel cab, Ron is sniping sticks of dynamite hidden in the garden as riders come. In the ensuing dust and chaos, Yang rapidly and stealthily disposes of the men. The outlaws are lured to the ferris wheel, where Yang and the carnies ambush them. Ron slides to safety on a cable, and the ferris wheel is blown up, killing many of the Colonel's men. Thinking it safe, the carnies come out from cover, only to be attacked by the numerous remaining outlaws. The Colonel's men chase the carnies to the center of town, where the Sad Flutes suddenly assemble. Saddest Flute instructs them 'kill.' Yang looks to Lynne holding April and tells her to run. The carnies manage to get away before the bloodshed between the outlaw cowboys and clan warriors starts.

Yang runs after Lynne and must cut down several warriors before following her to the laundry shop. Meanwhile, the cowboys in town manage to shoot down some clan warriors, but are engaged in lethal battle. In the laundry, Lynne hands April to Eight-Ball so she can help Yang. While he is killing a warrior, she saves him from another sneaking in. After they are safe for the moment, they hear shots, and run to Eight-Ball, where he is dying and says he couldn't protect April. He dies and the Colonel is seen carrying her in a building, yelling at his men to make sure no one got in.

The Sad Flutes pursue hotly, and are mostly fended off with a small machine gun, but the outlaws are unable to stop Yang, as he brutally slices through them all. He comes in the room to find the Colonel holding a gun to April's head, and leaps up to cut the barrel and bullet in half mid-firing. Catching April from falling, Yang steps aside to let Lynne fight the Colonel. After a tense battle, Lynne manages to finally drive a sword into the Colonel's back. Yang and Lynne exit the room to find Saddest Flute sitting across the carnage at the end of the hall. He tells Yang that April is the enemy, and asks if he would ever tell April that Yang killed her parents, her whole clan, and observes that Yang ran away from his old life of killing to kill more. He says Yang does not belong there. Yangs claims he does, or did, and will not kill April. Yang and Saddest flute go to the desert in the sunset, and duel to the death. During, flashbacks show Saddest Flute training Yang as an adult in pouring rain, drilling him through adolescence in the snow, and forcing child Yang to kill the puppy he was given, declaring Yang's biggest enemy would be his heart, and as an assassin, he must kill what he loves. In the present, Yang wins the duel, cutting Saddest Flute's throat.

Lynne tells Yang she knows she won't be coming with him, and tries to hand him April, but he refuses. He makes the baby laugh once more, and gives Lynne a caring look. Yang turns to the sunset, and Ron tells him to 'keep walking, sandman.' Ron narrates that the warrior never stopped walking, to put as much space between him and the little lady he loved as possible, showing April then Lynne. The scene then shifts to the a snowy, glacial environment. Opera plays from a small fish shack where a hooded man in a parka sits. Another approaches and asks how much for a fish. The sitting man nimbly kills the other, knives falling out of his hands as he collapses. Yang stands up and goes to his shack, where he takes the pendant he had been given by Lynne, his sword disguised as a snowman's broom, and April's pacifier, and sets the hut on fire. Walking out to the snow, a slew of clan warriors leap out of the snow, and Yang unsheathes his katana as the scene fades.

Cast

  • Jang Dong-gun
    Jang Dong-gun
    -Early life:Spending his childhood in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, he later went on to the Korea National University of Arts, dropping out before obtaining a degree.-Career:Jang Dong-gun first entered the entertainment world in a talent contest in 1992...

     as Yang
  • Geoffrey Rush
    Geoffrey Rush
    Geoffrey Roy Rush is an Australian actor and film producer. He is one of the few people who has won the "Triple Crown of Acting": an Academy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award. He has won one Academy Award for acting , three British Academy Film Awards , two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen...

     as Ron
  • Kate Bosworth
    Kate Bosworth
    Catherine Ann "Kate" Bosworth is an American actress. Bosworth starred in the television series Young Americans, in which she played Bella Banks. She became known with a leading role in 2002's Blue Crush. The following year, Bosworth played the teenage girlfriend of porn star John Holmes in...

     as Lynne
  • Danny Huston
    Danny Huston
    -Early life:Huston was born in Rome, Italy. He hails from the illustrious Huston acting and filmmaking dynasty. He is the son of legendary director John Huston, half-brother of actress Anjelica Huston and screenwriter Tony Huston, uncle of actor Jack Huston, stepbrother of Allegra Huston, and...

     as The Colonel
  • Tony Cox as Eight-Ball
  • Ti Lung
    Ti Lung
    Tommy Tam Fu-Wing, also known as Ti Lung , or Dik Lung, is a Hong Kong actor.-Background:He studied Wing Chun under the martial arts master Chu Wan. In 1969, Ti was found by the Shaw Brothers and cast in Return of the One-Armed Swordsman opposite Jimmy Wang Yu, a role which would launch his career...

     as Saddest Flute
  • Ash Jones as Rug
  • Analin Rudd as Baby April
  • Nic Sampson
    Nic Sampson
    Nic Sampson is a New Zealand actor mostly known for playing Chip Thorn in Power Rangers: Mystic Force and the voice of the Sentinel Knight in Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive...

     as Pug
  • Ryan Richards as Slug
  • Matt Gillanders as Geyser
  • Eoin McDonald as Hell Rider
  • Chontelle Melgren as Young Lynne
  • Wayne Gordon as Killer Klown

Production

Filming began in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

 on November 12, 2007 and wrapped up on February 28, 2008.

Reception

The film has received some poor reviews with a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

 based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6 out of 10.

Box office

In the films opening weekend, it grossed a poor $3,048,665 in the US. The film ranked #9 at the weekend charts. The number of theaters dramatically reduced from 1,622 to 34 within three weeks from the opening day. The film grossed 11,087,569 worldwide and had a production budget of 42,000,000 USD making the movie a box office bomb
Box office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...

. The movie was the biggest box office bomb of 2010 next to MacGruber
MacGruber (film)
MacGruber is a 2010 American action comedy film based on the Saturday Night Live sketch of the same name, itself a parody of action-adventure television series MacGyver. The film stars Will Forte in the title role; Kristen Wiig as his love interest/partner, Vicki St...

 and Jonah Hex
Jonah Hex (film)
Jonah Hex is a 2010 post-Civil War antihero Western film loosely based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film is directed by Jimmy Hayward and stars Josh Brolin as the title character, Jonah Hex, and also stars John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender,...

.
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