War of the Arrows
Year: 2012
Director: Kin Han-Min
Stars: Park Hae-Il, Ryu Seung-Ryong, Moon Chae-Won
Studio: Well-Go USA Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 122 mins
Plot Synopsis:
It‘s very nice to see an historic action film that isn’t filled with tanks shooting at building and soldiers with assault weapons on the battlefield. “War of the Arrows” is a korean action film that doesn’t need all the normal stuff that you see in action films to have some epic battle scenes.
The film takes place in the 1623, where the king’s loyal servant and archer, General Choi Pyong-ryang is executed, after being framed for treason. His whole family would soon suffer the same fate except for Nam-yi and Ja-in, who escapes to the house of their father’s friend, Kim Mu-seon. Thirteen years after the death of their father, Qing China carries out a brutal invasion on a small village named Joseon. This would later be known as the “second Manchu invasion of Korea”
Ja-in is set to marry the son of Mu-seon. But on their wedding day, Qing troops lead by a vicious commander attacks and abducts most of the villagers including Ja-in. When her brother Nam-yi returns home after being wounded, he finds his guardian murdered and Ja-in kidnapped. He sets out on a quest to find the Oing troops and save his sister, before they harm her.
Film Review:
“War of the Arrows” is one of those films that you don’t need exploding buildings and violent shooting to generate non stop action. Writer/director Kin Han-Min does a very good job creating the film’s action sequences from the pages of his screenplay. The action scenes were filmed very well. I liked, the way that he and his cinematographer Tae-seong Kim make the filming of those sequences very intense. From the camerawork to the planning of the scenes, they provide some action packed moments that grab your attention. It makes the film feel more on an epic scale.
The other thing that makes his direction good, the way Min keeps the action moving. I liked, how he’s able to keep the action moving through its sequences. One of the things that you look for in this genre, a film where the action feels intense and you have characters that you care about. This film has it. One of the things that Min does, he makes it about the characters and not solely on the action sequences. He does a very good job making the performances fit his story. Min makes sure that the acting aspects fit the film’s certain tone that you care about the main character and characters that he’s trying to protect. If your not into the main character’s journey through the performance, then you not going care about anything that goes on here. Thankfully here, Min does a very good job making you care about the main character through the performance.
Min’s screenplay was also key to making this film work. What makes this work was the fact that the main character was interesting. I liked how, he makes the develops the main character throughout the course of the film. Min does a very good job on focusing on the main character and his quest to save his sister. He does that, by making the main character flawed in the beginning of the film. By doing that, it allows the character to regain a sense of honor, when the village is attacked. That makes you invested in the main character’s journey and the road to finding his sister.
The other thing that I liked about Min’s screenplay, the way that he never lets the film slow down. For a two-hour film, this moves at a very good pace. The reason that it moves at a good pace, he balances the action and dramatic scenes within the context of the story. I liked, the fact that he doesn’t overwrite scenes or add too much filler between the action. By doing that, it lets the action become part of the story and you‘re not sitting waiting for something to happen, while the story develops.
Blu-Ray Extras:
There isn’t many extras on this disc sadly. First extra on the disc is a four minute behind the scenes featurette which features interviews from the cast and crew of the film. It felt like the standard featurette that you would see, if you had four minutes to kill. I wished the interviews would have been expanded, as this featurette goes by fast and you don‘t get much information on the production of the film. Next, there is highlights of some of the film’s action sequences along with character information. Wrapping up the disc is the US and international trailers for the film and a DVD copy of the film.
Final Summary:
“War of the Arrows” is one of those epic action films that proves that you don’t need massive explosions and drawn out firefights to make the action feel epic. Definitely worth a look, for those who like Korean cinema.
Review Rating: Four Stars
Blu-Ray Extras: One Star
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