Musa the Warrior (2001)

This is my first review so I'm kinda new at this.

If you're not a fan of historical martial arts films, then don't watch this. The story reminded me of "Hero" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", two great Chinese movies starring Zhang Ziyi as well. Can't really tell much about it though, 'cause we don't want any spoilers, do we ... Just read the synopsis! + You'll get an idea of what else to expect by reading further :) (Story - 9)

I really liked the accuracy in lots of elements such as costumery, weapons (super awesome btw!), settings and that everybody speaks in their native language (Chinese and Korean). The Yuan-dynasty's soldiers are played by Mongolian actors, which makes it more believable. Zhang Ziyi's acting is great as always, although that might be my opinion 'cause I have a slight crush on her :3. Ahum, moving on, I really like how all these different cultures cross paths in this movie. It helps you visualize how these cultures looked like in the past. What really made this movie great for me were the hardcore battles in it (hint: man with spear)! (Acting/Cast - 9)

Not really much to tell about the music. It worked out well with the scenes, like the battles for example, and gave me a matching feeling. The music did what it had to do, and did good doing so. (Music - 8)

Just like the two great Chinese movies I mentioned above, this one's worth a rewatch. Though you might like to wait a while before doing so, 'cause it'll most likely stay fresh in your head for quite some time. Yet, totally worth it! (Rewatch - 8)

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This is in my top 3 favourite films of all time. I've watched it countless times and of course I'll watch it again.

The plot is rather rudimentary. A bunch of people is chasing another bunch of people for two and a half hours.

But! Three things make those 2,5 h worth your time:

+ it's freaking beautiful. The photography is a piece of art. How to take dust, rags and ruins and make gorgeous pictures, that's the magic of cinema (yeah, Wong Kar-wai did it first in Ashes of Time, ok).

+ the action scenes. We get to see all sorts of battles, duels, skirmishes, many tactics, lots of blood (and lots of arrows through necks for some reason), and all of it is rather believable. No wire action here. The fighting is beautifully filmed (by someone who actually knows how to break the ''hold the camera steady when filming action'' rule) while managing to appear realistic.

+ all of this is nice, but this movie's great strength is the characters and the relationships between them. I don't want to make this review too long, so I'll just say this film has a great cast that brings to life every single character, down to the last random merchant.

I can't recommend this film enough.

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The Warriors or the alternate title 'Musa: The Warrior' is one of the better sword films I've seen out of Korea. It is a very high budget production. What I like most about the series is the amazing soundtrack. As the storyline goes, it is not unique. A group go through some kind of journey and during it some characters developed and one by one people die off. I've said this about many Korean sword films, the heroes often seem to make bad choices or bad decisions that lead to other's deaths or their own deaths, when better alternatives are available... This movie is no different, LOL. I also liked the colour and cinematography of the movie. Watching it was like watching a piece of art unfold. I thought Joo Jin Mo played General Choi Jung pretty well. I also liked Jung Woo Sung as Yeo Sol. Zhang Ziyi played the Chinese Princess Bu Yong well. Would I recommend others watch this film? The answer is yes. Just turn off the lights, switch off the brain, and have a bottle of red wine with pizza and/or popcorn. Relax and enjoy.

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This story is a beautifully coreagraphed row of fighting scenes. It is not the Chinese type, here the fight is not on wires, they know how to shoot an arrow, how to pose with a sabre or pike or whatever weapon that it should look real, how to make hitting a target believable, and how to look like someone suffering a lot due to different kinds of hardships, like sand, enemy, honor. They seem to take honor very seriously. And the Korean type of martial art is at least as good to watch as the Chinese.

It is situated into a very unstable historical era, with multiple folks, languages, and this makes the drama exceptionally weird and fun, despite the lack of real story (it is just a doad movie about trying to survive in the ancient east).

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Importance in Hallyu — The Korean Wave

This is a classic that helped begin the early years of the Korean Wave and the careers of the leads. It was one of the first Korean movies I saw, about ten years ago when I was just discovering the brilliance of the Koreans, who have remained my favorite filmmakers ever since. So “Musa: The Warrior” has a special place in my heart, not least of which is it’s having introduced me to the beautiful, brilliant Jung Woo- Sung. This artist is still a major force in Korean Films and Dramas— one of the best actors in the world. His portrayal of The Warrior is commanding, filling the screen: charismatic and absolutely breathtaking.

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