Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe Warlords (2007)
Director: Peter Chan
Movie review
From Time Out London
It begins in the aftermath of battle. Lone survivor General Pang (Jet Li) staggers from the wreckage a changed man, vowing to conquer China and end centuries of bloodshed and infighting. For Western audiences, the popular rebirth of Eastern cinema has been eye-opening. This represents another peak in that development, taking a familiar lust-for-glory narrative and investing it with boundless energy and drive.Side-stepping the cold-steel visual perfection of ‘Hero’ and the fairytale detachment of ‘Crouching Tiger…’, the film hews closer to ‘Spartacus’, revelling in gloriously directed slash-and-burn battle sequences as Pang and his bandit ‘brothers’ cut a gory swathe across the continent. But the film becomes more pensive and emotionally rewarding in the final act, shedding the mythic trappings and becoming a tragedy, as our broken heroes learn the corrupting influence of power.
Author: Tom Huddleston
Time Out London Issue 1994, 6 - 12 November 2008
User reviews of this film
-
- Arunaras said...
- Posted on Nov 19 2008 16:10 nice movie, emotions were well portrayed. u might be disappointed if u expect action packed acrobatic stunts.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Peter Chan
Cast: Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Rated: 15
Duration: 118 mins
UK Release: Nov 7 2008
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now