Action- packed, this movie jumps in and doesn’t stop running until the end. It is a valiant underdog story of how ancient Korea fared against the onslaught of the invading Tang Dynasty of China.

The cast is pretty good. Everyone was believable enough in their role. Those playing Chinese roles spoke Chinese. Though I’ve adjusted enough to hearing it spoken to know it sounded a little stilted, it’s way better than having them speak Korean. That’s a peeve of mine in films of any sort- not using the language or at least the accent of the country the person is supposedly from. Perhaps it's because I don't particularly expect an action movie to make me sob or laugh hysterically, but I had no problem with any of the actors, or the story. I never lost immersion either, even if it didn't have me an emotional wreck. (Thank goodness, I wasn't watching it for that.)

The military tactics are clever and it was fun to guess how they would be counteracted. I’m not sure if they were ones actually recorded in history as having been used in that time frame, but they were believable, on both sides. (At least to some extent, we allowed for dramatization.)

This is an action movie, and doesn’t really have much romance in it. There’s a little poignant heartache, but it’s more of an aside than any running theme. Even so, it’s a great fun movie to watch, especially if you want to compromise on a date night. ;)

For those interested in history, the invading Chinese Emperor Taizong, aka Li ShiMin, is the first husband of Wu Zetian, the eventual only ruling Empress in the history of China. (Of course she’s not shown in this, she was an Imperial Consort at the time.) But fun! I’ve always wanted more details on that time frame- I’ve been fascinated by it since I was 12.



TL/DR: definitely see it. You won’t be bored, unless strategy eludes you and you just need to see gratuitous violence, or you live only for romantic dramas.