Thanks for the memories!

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Fantastic!

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

I caught this movie a couple of times and found it interesting without being anything exceptional. However, recently I watched it for a third time. Most films, even the good ones, don't really bear a third watching without becoming predictable and stale. But "Warriors", I loved the third time. There suddenly seemed to be new subtleties in the dialog and characterization that I hadn't noticed before. Lai Xi (as it's pronounced in the movie, not Lai Qi which sounds like a Chinese dessert) and Lieutenant Li epitomize nobility, honor and dedication of purpose. Wen Zhu is beautiful and demure but with an undercurrent of steel. Master An and his sidekicks are a little bit caricatured as the pictures of evil, but all of the subsidiary characters - One Eyed Eagle, Old Die-hard, Club Ma etc - bring a blend of humor, bravery and loyalty. The fight and battle scenes are terrific without the excesses of, say, House of Flying Daggers or Crouching Tiger. It's been described as a Noodle Western, and I guess that's a good description. I'd regard it as a better example of the Western genre than most of the Cowboys-and-Indian epics produced by Hollywoood.Originally, I'd probably have regarded this as a 6 or 7 out of 10, but after the latest viewing, it gets a 9.

Personally I think it's a rip off of Musa, but besides that, it does a terrible job of developing characters. You feel no attachment to any of them. Vicki Zhao was did nothing except play eye candy. You didn't know exactly what was going on until at least 45 minutes into the movie, and the main villain was absolutely laughable. There were scenes that were stuck there for no apparent reason at all. Either He Ping rushed this, or he had to clip out practically half the movie to make budget.Poorly developed characters and storyline. Even the music seemed inappropriate or cheesy at times. The only redeeming grace of this movie is its extraordinary cinematography. That and an attempt to add some symbolism in the movie with water and blood.Terrible movie. Not worth your money or time. If you want the same style but awesome story/characters, go for Musa.

This movie had all the trappings of a successful film, but was obviously did not come together in editing. Much of the third act was simply not there, and the use of voice-over to advance the plot was an obvious sign of internal problems. The movie as a whole is incredibly uneven, and the sudden inclusion of CGI hoodoo after the half-way point was jarring and unwelcome. Even still, just about all of the plot devices have been done better in other movies. Comparing this movie to Musa, Hero, and CTHD is doing those movies a disservice. While this movie is not bad, nothing raises it above mediocrity.

Read at your own risk. Don't waste your good money watching it. This movie just reaffirmed my decision not to watch Hero. I had the chance and figured it would be Americanized with implausible plots. One of the aspect I enjoyed was the cinematography. In one scene, the camera looked up at Lieutenant Li reminiscent of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. Parts of the sound track was enjoyable, more so if father dearest didn't open his mouth and buries the good dialogue way way below the obnoxiously loud music. Dear Ping He, please watch either volume of Kill Bill and learn how to mix soundtracks. Finally about the second viewing, my ears adjusted and picked up the words. I suppose the slightly jarring music was a foreshadowing of the sloppy weaving of the story leaving gaping holes where the audience is left to fill them in. For example, what is the Japanese doing at the military post? what was the relationship between Japan and Tang Dynasty? Wen Zhu (played by beloved formerly saucy Huan Zhu Ge Ge) didn't receive a decent chance to break out of the pretty girl mold. Instead, poor dear was reduced to narrate the obvious like when they were sneaking of the Big Steed Post (their translation, not mine), "Lai Qi spotted them heading for Red Rock Gorge. He didn't want the bandit steal the caravan, nor does he want Li killed until they reach the capital." (not word for word) This is only slightly less painful than Legolas stating "those are orc horns." Bah!I can't say that I know the costume from Tang Dynasty but the helmets look suspiciously like shiny plastic. I could be wrong. I could also be wrong but half way through the movie, there were more camels than they started with. The key parts of the journey cuts through the desert. If they were true desert people, even with wells, Master An would not give water/spit at Lai Qi, nor would the girl take a luxurious bath. And what is with the mysticism of the pagoda? If the plot is believable and characters true to their environment, anything valuable could replace the pagoda. Anyone who thinks this is good need to watch Chinese television series Yang Jia Jang about the rise and fall of a family of warriors serving their emperor. Or San Quo Yang Ye/Tale of Three Kingdoms.