The Warrior (2001) User Reviews

For your consideration...

[OttoVonB · 8/10 · 16 May 2003]

Emissaries from Korea stumble across an attempt by Mongol warriors to kidnap a Chinese princess. Nice clean and simple premise for a Summer blockbuster, one whose marketing (and casting) coasts on the popularity of Crouching Tiger and Hero but whose execution is very different.

I saw this one by accident thinking it was Hero, the massive 2002 Oscar nominee also starring Zhang Ziyi (and, for all its dodgy ideology, worth discovering for the visual feast alone). The region 2 (Korean & French audio 5.1) looked good so I rented it... Back when that was still a thing.

First, this is not Hero, nor is it a wuxia or wire-work driven martial arts film. This is a Historical action film, and despite the prowesses of its heroes, Musa's violence is realistic and brutal. It is a very clever men-on-a-mission flick, with interesting balance and variety within the team, with echoes of Seven Samurai. Where things take an even more pleasant turn are in the interesting portrayal of our characters: a borderline unlikable "hero" (or so he seems at first) and princess, great nobility in the lower ranks, and a surprisingly likable and charismatic villain, if indeed you can call him that.

In production value terms, this can compete with anything Hollywood churns out, and the technical credits, from editing to earthy cinematography, are all excellent. Fast-shutter action, made popular by Saving Private Ryan and Gladiator, is put to brutal use here, and there is a fine balance of chaotic individual moments and interesting strategies, something that would later be explored in John Woo's Red Cliff. This film procures that very rare delight of watching a film and knowing exactly where all the money, effort and care went, because it is all up there on screen, and for once, equally distributed, performances included. Something you have got to see.

For your consideration, ladies and gentlemen: Musa.

Captivating visuals certainly worth a look

[oshram-3 · 7/10 · 2 February 2004]

I'd never heard of this movie until my buddy Eric rented it; that Blockbuster carries it is I guess a good sign. Part Crouching Tiger, part Saving Private Ryan, with just a smidgen of Hidden Fortress and an echo of Xenophon, Musa is a highly enjoyable movie.

The movie begins in 1375 with a failed delegation from Korea to the Ming dynasty. Led by General Choi Jung (Jin-mo Ju), the delegation become prisoners of the Ming, being led off to exile, when the Mongols strike. Suddenly finding themselves free, the delegation decides to rescue the captive Ming princess (Ziyi Zhang, of Crouching Tiger fame) who travels with the Mongols. When they succeed, naturally, the Mongols want her back, and thus begins an arduous trek across the desert, culminating in a Road Warrior-esque fight at a battered old castle where the survivors hole up against their much more mobile but less-civilized attackers.

Musa has action in spades, some of it exceptionally grisly (every archery attack is cause for dozens of shots of gruesome impalings). The battles are tense and tautly filmed and feel more dangerous than most combats of this type. We eschew the beautiful martial arts style so prevalent in many Hong Kong films for a grittier and far more realistic, if a bit bloody, style here. But what Musa also possesses is atmosphere; the locations and the cinematography are top-notch, from the boundless deserts to the broken-down castle by the sea. Musa does an excellent job of selling the world it is set in.

The costumes help with this as well. Not since Brotherhood of the Wolf have I seen such elaborate and effective costuming (the armor and such here was even more intricate and character-intensive than Last Samurai, which is saying something). Each character has his own particular look, is easily told apart from the others, and costuming is ultimately an extension of character, which to me has always been the whole point. These are some of the best period costumes you'll see anywhere.

The acting is all pretty good, though it tends to come from the George Lucas school of `faster, more intense.' One facet I did like is that no one is perfect; the general is a bit of a jerk; his loyal retainer Ga-nam (Jeong-Hak Park), while a mighty warrior, lacks the ability to really think for himself; the princess is spoiled; the slave-turned-warrior Yeo-sol (Woo-sung Jung) is selfless but headstrong, and so on. Even the Mongols come across as human, if a bit savage (which, having done the research, I can attest is more or less pretty accurate).

Musa isn't for everyone due to the violence. But it's a very well done period piece with wonderful visuals that certainly captivates the viewer. It's as good or better than any of the historical epics Hollywood has released in the past few years (with the exception of The Last Samurai), and from a costuming and cinematography sense is very much worth your while to see. Just don't bother tracking this down if you're a little squeamish, that's all.

Korean Epic Film

[freemantle_uk · 7/10 · 11 July 2009]

There is a nothing like a good epic film. Here is a fine entry to the genre from South Korea, a nation that doesn't normally make these sort of films. Film in China and staring the beautiful Zhang Ziyi it had potential.

Set in 1374 relations between Korea and the Ming Dynasty in China are at a low. The Koreans send a diplomatic mission to resort their relationship, led by General Choi-Jung (Joo Jin-mo). However when arriving in a city he team are captured and exiled from China. Left for dead in the desert their run into a Mongol army party which have captured Princess Bu-yong (Zhang Ziyi). The Korean party save her and hope to return her to Emperor, saving their mission. Within the party is Yeosol (Jung Woo-sung), a recently freed slave who was loyal to his master and excellent fighter with a spear. He and the Princess have an attraction to each other. After freeing the Princess, the Mongols are upset. There were hoping to use her as a bargaining chip against the Ming's China. They chase the Koreans and destroy countryside villages to get her back.

The story and plot are simply and believable within the context of the film; always good signs. Within the group many of characters and relationships are developed, especially Yeosol, the General, the Princess and Jinlip, the veteran of the group. Even the main bad guy has some nobility about him. The costumes and weaponry are excellently done. The warfare was brutal and shows woman and children getting killed, something that rarely happens in Hollywood films. The film is deliciously violence. My only real problem with the film, which lets it down is the action. It is good that the action is violence, but it is so overly edited and the shaky-cam make it difficult to follow. If the action was better then the would have been even better.

If you enjoy films like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, Conan the Barbarian and Red Cliff, you will like this film.

Excellent epic

[FilmFlaneur · 26 May 2003]

Those who settle down to enjoy the excellent 150-odd minute Musa will be surprised at how much it suggests a Western. There's sweeping landcapes, a cross-desert ordeal; competition between villains and heros, 'stagecoach' chases, abandoned and defended forts, and 'cavalry' charges. These, as well as a strong sense of a man-having-to-do what-a-Man-has-to-do, combine to create familiarity to those who know such films as (for instance) The Alamo and Commanche Station. That's not to say that Musa has no originality, or is not strongly rooted within Korean national cinema. It contains a number of striking set pieces - notably the several pitched battle scenes, multiple characterisation, as well as some insight into the various power struggles which make up mid-fourteenth century Asian history. But at the heart of this package remain a well-tried fairy story, that of a cold Princess who must learn to swallow her pride, and of a brave servant's unrequited love.

Sung-Su Kim, who directs from his own screen play, does a very good job in drawing together his disparate group of travelling companions on a dangerous journey: a Princess, a General, a monk, soldiers, wives, a cowardly translator, a whore, etc. To provide suitable contrast between the moments of combat, he relates them in short, effective, dialogue scenes. Its good to see a film too in which the ubiquitous wire work and over the top gymnastics, beloved by some Eastern action directors, is conspicuous by its absence. Its also one where the director relies less on extreme camera angles and special effects to create visual drama than on the regular ebb and flow of dramatic editing. Perhaps because of this 'naturalness', the battle scenes are consistently exciting and involving. They are also staged in enough different locales to make them varied viewing each time. A standout is a desperate confrontation amongst trees, where the director takes full advantage of foliage cover, confusion, and events within the frame to create some real martial suspense.

The HK disc I saw was generally excellent, with occasional errors in subtitle grammar, as well as the odd compression problem (on-screen blur), usually during horizontal tracking movements. All told, though, the cheap price of this disk makes it an excellent buy and I strongly recommend it - and the film.

Good enough, but by no means a great movie

[cchamb · 6/10 · 3 May 2007]

I typically enjoy films like this one, but there is a lot of room for improvement for North American release of Musa.

Overall it was pretty good. There are several great battle scenes with great choreography, but don't expect the same gravity defying fights you'd see in a movie like Crouching Tiger or House of Flying Daggers. These fights were more along the lines of Braveheart. In other words, the laws of physics were generally observed during battle. The fight scenes are mostly believable.

The story also works on multiple levels. Key themes included leadership under pressure, loyalty, love, designated class roles, and courage. This isn't simply an action movie. The characters are believable and interesting. The story is well written and well executed.

One of my favorite things about this movie is the landscape. I really felt a sense of "being there" in the alternately scorching and freezing desert. The region where it was filmed is clearly both beautiful and forbidding at once.

Now for my complaints. First, I don't think the translation to English subtitles was very well done. The subtitles were filled with spelling and grammatical errors, but that wasn't as bad as the very brief length of time they were displayed on the screen. Sometimes the words would appear so briefly that I had to rewind two or three times to catch a key phrase. This didn't happen terribly often, but it was often enough to be annoying. It made me wonder if this DVD went through any sort of quality assurance before being packaged.

Second, two languages are spoken throughout the movie, Korean and a dialect of Chinese, (Cantonese maybe?). Communication between the Korean and Chinese characters, or the lack thereof, plays a significant role in the movie. Not being able to tell the difference between the two languages, I feel like I missed out on something. For example, when one of the Korean soldiers was addressing the mixed party of Korean and Chinese characters, I just assumed everyone could understand him. Later I realized that wasn't the case. It was a mental exercise to remember who on the screen would be able to understand whomever was speaking at the moment. Obviously a native speaker of either language would have had a much easier time following this aspect of the storyline.

Third, I found it difficult to understand the cultural motivations and distinctions between some of the characters. There were several social classes represented in the movie including peasants, royalty, envoys, slaves, military officers, and enlisted soldiers. The caste system wasn't explained and didn't translate well to a Western viewer like myself. A viewer with a prior understanding would have gotten more out of this aspect of the movie, recognizing what kind character interaction is normal or taboo.

Mongols, Korean Warriors, Chinese, Honor, Love, Sacrifice

[skduncan · 10/10 · 23 March 2004]

Based on actual events, Korean diplomats were sent into China with military escorts in 1375. Remember Europe was emerging from the Dark Ages at this time, but in Asia they were an advanced civilization. With the rise of the famous Ming Dynasty in China and the waning days of the Mongols, the Korean emperor was eager to formalize ties with the new Chinese government. This is the story of one of the those diplomatic missions.

This is an epic film, shoot over 9000 miles of China's northern region. Covering plains, prairies, forests, deserts and coastline. The cinematography is beautiful.

Though this is a Korean film, it utilizes the famous Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, who portrays a kidnapped daughter of the Chinese Emperor.

Throughout most of the film the Korean warriors speak Korean. The Princess and the Chinese villagers speak Mandarin. Interestingly the Mongols also speak Mandarin to each other, historically inaccurate but Mongols don't go to movies these days. Some of the Koreans can also speak Mandarin. This is accurate since the educated Koreans of the time, could read, write and speak Chinese. This film is subtitled in English.

This is a grand story of honor, sacrifice and overcoming overwhelming odds. The Korean warriors must fight the larger forces of the Mongols. Using tactics and strategies not unlike that which you can find in Sun Tzu's the Art of War writings.

If you want some insight into the culture and attitudes of the people of this region, Musa is the movie for you.

Enjoyable but clichéd historical action epic

[paha_kuukkeli · 6/10 · 17 July 2004]

While Musa offers very little new to the genre of historical action epics it manages to be more entertaining than most of its ilk. It's rather difficult to explain why it is so though.

Film's story is quite thin and despite its connections to real history it mostly acts only as very straightforward device to take characters from one battle to the next. Characters are pretty much your typical collection of stereotypes; proud and insecure general, snobby princess, humble and noble veteran captain and of course the honorable and brooding hero. If you've seen a few of these movies before you'll know exactly what's going to happen in this one.

Acting is quite good though some of the characters give little space for expressing anything beyond their caricature traits. Action sequences are very well made and enjoyably bloody. I must emphasize the fact that fights in Musa are not the massive battles between armies like in Braveheart but skirmishes comprising few dozen people at most (I don't find this necessarily bad but it makes me wonder the budget of $60M).

Cinematography is generally beautiful but I could have lived without some of the most clichéd slow motions (like the ones during the final battle). Score is rather bland and the song during the ending credits fits the movie amazingly poorly.

What else? Well, despite my partially negative review I actually enjoyed the movie. It's way above the Gladiator and about as good as Braveheart (comparing it to movies that seem to appear in most of the reviews anyway). 7/10

Incredible

[simon_booth · 10/10 · 4 April 2002]

I think it was nearly a year ago that I came across the website and first started anticipating the movie eagerly. The site contained lots of stills from the movie throughout, and every single one of them was utterly beautiful, like it had been painted to perfection rather than captured in motion. It seemed unreasonable to expect the whole movie to look that good, but I was pretty sure that it was going to be impressive. With so much anticipation and hope for a movie, it seems almost inevitable that you are going to be disappointed when you finally see it. All the more surprise then that MUSA meets and surpasses my expectations in every way!

First things first, yes... it really does look that good! All the way through . Like Zhang Yimou's SHANGHAI TRIAD, practically every frame is beautifully composed and rendered, and could easily hang on a gallery wall somewhere. There wasn't a single shot that I could imagine looking better than it did. The production design is incredible, the locations stunning, the special effects groundbreaking (the gore). I can't imagine how much time and money must have gone into its production, let alone talent and dedication.

MUSA is epic in the word's biggest sense - I couldn't help thinking of Homer's ILIAD and ODDYSEY in many parts, and those are basically the two stories that the word 'epic' was invented for. It makes Gladiator, Crouching Tiger etc look positively inconsequential. The movie is also made with an attention to detail that is remarkable. It is certainly the most convincing evocation of [relatively] ancient times that I have seen. You will really believe that you've been transported back to 400 something AD China, where Zhang Ziyi happens to be a princess and Yu Rong Guang a Mongol general. I really felt "Yes, this is what life was like back then. This is how things looked, this is how people behaved".

Despite the epic nature of the story, the central focus is always on a small-ish cast of characters, each of whom is very well conceived and developed throughout the movie's course. I'd guess there's about 15 major characters in the story, and a significant cast of minor characters. The performances are all superb - I'm pretty sure the actors themselves were quite convinced they really were their characters. The believability is enhanced by the costuming, makeup and I guess just good casting - all the different factions involved in the story totally look the part.

No epic would be complete without battle scenes, and MUSA has quite a few. These are all stunningly choreographed and filmed, not in a HK style like Bichunmoo, but in a completely real style. Beautifully shot of course, but the men fight like skilled soldiers really would (I'm sure), and get wounded/killed equally convincingly. The special effects of arrows and blades penetrating flesh are sometimes shockingly convincing. This might be disturbing to some, but it isn't played for titillation - it just adds to the gravity of the experience. It may be a little conspicuous that the heroes all manage to dispatch many times their own body weight in enemies, but you've got to give them *some* leeway for narrative convention .

There is a lot of planning involved in the battles, of a military nature, and this is also very convincing and fascinating. Almost as large a part of the process as the actual getting down to it with the weapons. A very believable insight into how battles were waged in the days when a bow & arrow was as hi-tech as weaponry got.

Hmmm... is there any aspect of the movie I haven't gushed praise over yet? A nod to the soundtrack I guess - good, very fitting. Sound effects in the battles are excellent. Ummm... and the lighting is really good too .

A cursory nod must be made to the films flaws as well though, lest I leave the reader with expectations of *total* perfection. The main flaw is that the movie wanders rather too far into melodrama & a little cliche towards the end. It would probably be kind of cheesy, except that it's all so well done you can't get too upset with it .

Korea's answer to 'Crouching Tiger...'

[danielsan128 · 7/10 · 5 July 2002]

An above average period action-movie, that was reportedly the most expensive production ever mounted in South Korea. Unfortunately it cannot hold a candle to the vastly superior 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' (even though this film also stars the delectable Zhang Ziyi) or 'Once Upon A Time In China'. The cinematography recalls Janus Kaminski's work on 'Saving Private Ryan', the camera being over-cranked in the battle scene's to produce an effect of hyper-realism.

All in all worth seeing, but instantly forgettable.

Probably the best War/Romance Movie ever made

[abisio · 10/10 · 2 December 2002]

There are several kinds of War movies. Some most interested in the romance (I do not know why but there are a lot of them) using the war as a background and others only in the facts and history.

MUSA or THE PRINCESS WARRIOR is probably in between. Because this war and almost everything that happens here is related to an unfinished love story between three characters (if you think is stupid, remember Homer's ILIADA and the reason of the Trojan War).

About seven centuries ago, Chinese got divided and a diplomatic mission from the Koryo kingdom (protected by small group of soldiers), try to make peace with the Ming dynasty. The Ming's army refuses to accept the ambassadors and escort the whole group out of the country. In the dessert, Mongolian's forces attack and kill the Ming's soldiers releasing the Koryo people in the dessert.

An ambitious, very tough (and young) Koryo general, tries to lead his people back to his country, until they found a Mongolian group carrying a Ming's princess prisoner. Engaged by the woman's beauty, he decides to rescue her, justifying his actions as a political opportunity.

Meanwhile, an ex-slave (released by the noble Ambassador before dying in the dessert), itself a great but silent warrior, gets involved in the rescue and after showing his courage and ability in combat, is forced to protect the Princess, creating obvious jealousy on the young general.

Mongolian's of course, will not accept being defeated, so they run after the small group, to recover the princess.

What happens after (the movie is more than two and a half hours long but never boring) is somehow predictably; however this is a Korean movie, so do not expect the silly and forced happy ending. What make the movie worth (a 10 / 10) is the way things are told, the beauty of the images and the poetry surrounding the story.

This movie war movie, but is not glorifying war, but the honor of people fighting for their countries. This is a love story, but a real one, were words are unnecessary and everything that happens is inside every character, but just looking at their eyes, we know what exactly are their feelings.

Halfway through the film, we realize that the line between bad and good guys is not really clear. That the real enemy is sometimes on the same side.

There are a lot of small characters, and everyone gets enough screen time, to make us care about them; sometimes even more than the main characters.

A special mention deserves the numerous war scenes. Using a slow motion, first person shots, quick editing and almost every camera trick you could imagine, you will feel in the middle of the battlefield (and a very scary one ). The blood and violence are much more realistic, than BLACK HAWK DOWN or WHEN WE WERE SOLDIERS, and the impression created is more than those two plus any other recent war related.

In brief; as far as I know this movie did not get a cinema release, but you can find it in EBAY or in some special video stores. DO NOT MISS IT; is probably the best movie of the year.

Ziyi Zhang is everywhere

[view_and_review · 7/10 · 9 July 2007]

Big budget Asian films are becoming synonymous with tragedy. I've seen Crouching Tiger, Hero, Fearless, Shinobi (actually Japanese), and now Musa the Warrior, and they all have one thing in common: the hero dies. These movies are very much contrary to the American ideology that has been propagated in the cinemas for years; that of the hero saving the day, getting the girl, and oh yeah... living. Don't get me wrong, I admired the non-Kung Fu Chinese movies, and Musa the Warrior can be added to my list of likables.

The movie had a good story, but even more so it had some very interesting characters. When I say interesting, they were characters that you could form a concrete opinion about. Either you loved them or you hated them. And yet again Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Rush Hour 2, Hero, & Memoirs of a Geisha) is in another movie. She plays a princess in this movie, and if being a princess means being pampered, bratty and annoying, then she hit the nail on the head.

Along with the story, the movie featured some good, if not gory battle scenes. There was plenty of blood shed, loss of limbs, and otherwise less than sexy means of being killed. But it portrayed one thing well: war isn't pretty. I took exception to the length of the battle scenes though. Even if battles do take that long, they should have adapted them for theater. At times it was also difficult to keep up with who was who in those battle scenes. Besides being a little lost during some of the early battle scenes, I was a bit lost during their journey. I'm not familiar with China at all, so it would have been much more helpful if there was a caption to tell the audience where they were a different times.

The negatives still were not nearly as bad as the positives of this movie were good. I hate to say that I somewhat expected many people to die, and even though I wasn't quite sure if Yeo sol would be killed, I wasn't the least bit surprised. His death was a noble one and that was to be expected. One of these days a Chinese movie is going to have to end with someone dying of old age.

A modern-day Classic of ancient times

[movieman_kev · 9/10 · 10 June 2005]

It's Ancient China circa 1375, the Koryo king sent a diplomatic delegation of diplomats, soldiers, and a mute slave to the Ming emperor to make peace between the Yuan and Ming dynasties, but they are regarded as spies, and thus are dispatched to a remote desert. So they begin a journey to get back home, but after learning that a Ming princess has been kidnapped by Yuan troops, the same troops that they had met and fought with earlier, they see that if they rescue her it's possible that they can get a ship needed to sail home. Cinematic ally this is a beautiful film, the action suitably epic and the film even poetic at times. I can safely say that this film is a wonder to behold even in it's edited Iternational incarnation.

My Grade: A

Region 0 DVD Extras: nothing and it's the 132 minute international cut. I love this film, but try your best to seek out the R2 Scandinavia 3-Disc SE, as it has the longer 155 minute version AND the international cut AND a great deal of extras

Decent cinematography, shallow story

[thomasaaa123 · 6/10 · 15 June 2007]

Musa: the Warrior reminds me of war movies made in the 1980s or earlier. Pretty fun, a little inspiring, but ultimately too simplistic.

Despite the 2 hour plus duration, the story stays on a rather rudimentary level and certain promising subplots are not quite developed. There's some hints of romance, of course. But the movie refuses to sufficiently branch out to be taken as anything other than a pure war movie.

There are occasions when the subthemes of love/infatuation, longing for freedom, loyalty, and honor are given the spotlight. But the focus proves too brief, and the subthemes are never adequately and delicately explored beyond being mentioned with clichés and acknowledged with unrefined lines and grossly unsubtle actions. It's as though the movie tries to touch upon so many subthemes that it fails to treat anyone of them with enough attention.

Having said that, though, the movie manages to offer some good simple entertainment. Movies with obvious ambitions--even when the ambitions are not quite well fulfilled--are almost always fun to watch. Musa is no exception. While the filmmakers didn't lavish on extras and grand scenes, the fact that they made the characters go through an unnecessarily long journey (and war) so that there'd be more opportunities for the characters/actors to impart a deeper impression shows the filmmakers' enthusiasm and desire to make an epic out of the material.

Overall, I'd recommend this movie if you would like to reminisce about the old movies with likable characters in difficult situations--in simple and straightforward exposition. But a deep story with strong emotional and intellectual pull, the movie is not.

Great Visual but Weak Story and Character

[kleaner · 5/10 · 16 March 2002]

This film is disappointing. Jung Woo-Sung plays the same character, the lonely fighter, once again and it's not cool any more. If he wants to continue his career, he has to take some different characters from now on. Choi Jung's character is laughable even though it's not supposed to be. He wants to control his troop but they never listen to him so one night he says "I'm going my own way, you guys go your own. Don't anybody follow me or I'll kill him" in a lonely heroic way and leaves the troop. Of course no one follows him but next morning, they find him fallen out of the horse and passed out about 100 M away from their camp. Zhang Zi-Yi doesn't look as hot as in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". All the princess does is to whine through the whole movie and causes other innocent people to be slaughtered. The monk always tries to teach other people but he is rather annoying than wise. Ahn Sung-Ki gives the best performance as the warm-hearted archer. The spectacle is one of the best in Korean films. Unlike Hong Kong martial art films, the action scenes are also realistic but they are too long so I got bored later. The idea of this film is original and the cinematography is wonderful. If it had a better script, "Musa" could have been a great film.

Cool War Epic in Cinematic Proportion

[Akira-36 · 25 April 2002]

Not since Braveheart, had I seen a medieval war drama so captivating, realistic and entertaining. To say Musa is the Korean equivalent of that movie is not an exaggeration. Here in New Zealand, Musa was shown as part of Beck's Incredible Film Festival 2002. It was the second Korean movie I've watched in my entire life. Having said that, the movie shed some light into Korean history, of which I knew only a little.

Suffice it to say that the movie was set in 14th century China, during the rise of the Ming Dynasty. It tells the story of a diplomatic delegation from the kingdom of Koryo (Korea), which is accused of espionage and sent to exile by the chinese kingdom. The movie follows the journey of this delegation from exile to their home country, and what transpire in that process. That would include lots of medieval fights, internal disputes, symbolic characterizations, beautiful native sceneries, great costumes and 'correct' interpretation of cultural identities between the warring groups (ie. chinese, koreans, mongols, arabs, etc.).

The movie flows smoothly due to a good direction and professional filming/editing; the narration intrigues you to know what comes next. The battle scenes, especially the solo fights by Yeosol, were excitingly choreographed and realistically executed.

I've read that Kim Sung-su, the director, paid tribute to the late John Ford through the embodiment of the character Yeosol (Jung Woo-sung). He has this jingoistic attitude (shoot first, ask later).

And let's not forget the heart-racing caravan chasing scene, which reminded me of classic Western and colossal movies.

Furthermore, I find that the gory and bloody war scenes were reminiscence of Kurosawa's jidaigeki films. In fact the graphic violence surpasses that of Braveheart's, although Musa is not as romanticized as the former (eventhough it is more idealized). The film has to be, because it is basically about the essence of a warrior. So moral messages and historical interpretations were not the purpose of the movie, but rather what makes a warrior.

SPOILERS

The Chinese character of Musa is read as 'samurai' in Japanese.

And if you understand the 'message' of the movie, than you would also understand the values of a warrior/samurai: valiant, courage, virtues, honour, obligation, loyalty and self-sacrifice. Princess Bu Yong (Zhang Ziyi) who in the movie is the main reason of all the disputes, then becomes a narration tool, a stimulant for all the problems that in the end require the culmination of the aforementioned values, so that the problem can be solved. As such, the movie is closed appropriately with a sad but glorious

At the last battle in the Clay Fortress, the Korean delegation fights to its last strength, only to find out that their trap has failed against the Mongols.

Sgt. Jin-lip: "General ...., we have failed. (staring hopelessly) "

General Choi: "(faint smile) .... I've always wanted to die with honour."

A bit outdated but still good

[KineticSeoul · 7/10 · 7 January 2013]

This movie is all about the sword, spear and arrow action during 1375. When it comes to the story it's nothing special or deep but just decent. When a enjoy lead by Choi-Jung(Joo Jin-mo) who is a arrogant and straightforward general and also weak against pretty girls gets falsely accused for being spies. They are exiled to the desert by the Ming army. But they get attacked by mongols and they kill off the Ming army that the envoy is being transported by. But the Mongols spare the envoy which consists of Koreans. Soon they end up rescuing the princess of Ming. Who starts off as a bratty and spoiled person. From the clutches of the Mongols and decides to return her back to the Ming dynasty in order to get the misunderstanding straightened out. But also a silent warrior aid them as well that is proficient in wielding a spear. And love triangle issues as they try to run and protect the princess while defending her from the mongol clutches. So yeah nothing special and has been done before for the most part. But it's the cool character and the fight scenes that make up this movie. In fact Joo Jin-mo and Jung Woo-sung were in their prime in this movie. At the time when this movie came out it was pretty good but now it just seems a bit outdated. With poor editing and choppy fight cinematography. And the fight sequences aren't all that memorable. But thinking in the way of when this movie came out, I am going to give it a straight 7.

7/10

Fantastic

[AwesomeWolf · 10/10 · 9 June 2005]

Version: Eastern Eye's R4 DVD release. Korean audio, English subtitles.

There are two kinds of people who will enjoy 'Musa'. The first are those who will make the obvious comparisons 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' and subsequently praise. The others are those like me: Easily amused by long, bloody battle scenes. Is something wrong with me?

China, 1375: The Ming are in power in China, and fighting a war against the Ming. A Korean delegation expelled by the Ming government encounters a group of Yuan soldiers who have kidnapped the Ming Princess Bu-Yong (Zhang Ziyi). After rescuing the Princess, the Koreans find that the Yuan soldiers are rather keen to capture the Princess again and kill anyone in their way. Who would have thought that making Mongolian soldiers angry was a BAD idea?

I'm a bit wary of drama movies (can you tell?), so if I'd known 'Musa' was a 2.5 hour long love story / war movie, I probably would have avoided it. I'm glad I didn't, as 'Musa' proves that even drama can be awesome! The story of love and honour set against an epic journey is one that even I'll admit to have found to moving and captivating.

Real comments aside, the only reason 'Musa' came to my attention was because it is an action movie, and features Mr. Iron Monkey himself, Rongguang Yu. A far cry from the (sometimes very) intense martial arts movies that Rongguang Yu is usually in, 'Musa' is a bloody depiction of war. No character flies around using magical kung-fu, but they can still swing a weapon around and look really cool while doing it.

I really can't say much about 'Musa' that hasn't already been said. It may have a limited appeal - its long, violent, and dramatic - but well recommended to anyone who can sit through two and a half of drama and violence. Fantastic - 10/10

Asian epic

[elu5iv3 · 10/10 · 22 September 2003]

• Musa The Warrior: 8.5/10

This movie had a budget of some US$60 million, which is huge for Asia. They made good use of that figure, with sometimes disturbing, but very well done fight scenes and in general, beautiful cinematography. This movie is a journey from start to finish. For all 2 1/4 or so hours, the group is journeying, and survives much longer than they expect. The characters were tremendously developed. Even peasants getting killed made you sad, because he or she had been given some screen time and you got to know them somewhat. Later on, it's an emotional rollercoaster, as familiar faces start to go down en masse in one final, epic battle. The movie had an "Asian western" theme, as it was largely set in desert/barren regions, but I never felt the scenery was repetitive, which is a credit to director Sung-su Kim and his team. Highly recommended Asian cinema excellence!

Amazing,takes a dump on Gladiator and Braveheart.

[veganflimgeek · 10/10 · 21 November 2003]

Musa is the most amazing Korean film I have seen yet. I put it in a very small league of super high class Martial arts films like King Hu, Kurasawa,CTHD or Hero. The weight of the performances are important to this film which takes a great deal of time to develop all the characters. The battle scenes are better than that In historical hollywood epics. Brutal action which is a great pay for all the wonderful character development.

I can't imagine being disappointed by this film. Wow.

Excellent Korean swordplay epic

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 24 December 2016]

I do like a good historical epic and it's a truth that nobody makes them quite like they do in Asia. Over the past decade, the genre has flourished since the success of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, and while I don't like that particular film very much, I've absolutely adored some of the others that have followed. These titles include HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS and CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER. As a viewer, I'm always drawn slightly away from the wuxia genre (I'm no big fan of the wire work you see in these movies) in favour of the grittier, more realistic genre films like THE WARLORDS. MUSA is such a film, a Korean epic that focuses on realism and crucial believability throughout.

In essence it's a familiar story about a group of highly skilled and diverse warriors attempting to protect a princess while battling an evil general and his small army on their tale. Some say it's like Kurosawa, with the superficial similarities to SEVEN SAMURAI on show. I disagree. MUSA is a firmly modern, action-focused epic which is all about the battles and the swordplay, and anyone who thinks otherwise is mistaken. The good news is that these scenes are tremendous, veering on the right side in terms of the editing, which is fast but allows you to actually see what's going on. The battle choreography is stupendous and there's all manner of fighting involved. There's a particular emphasis on cool weaponry (high-powered bows, a massive spear) and also on the wounds inflicted by these cruel weapons. This ain't PG-fare; it's one of the bloodiest historical epics out there and I'm still trying to figure out how they achieved the brilliant arrow-in-the-neck special effects.

It's a rare film that succeeds through action alone, but there's far more to MUSA than just that. The simple journey storyline allows for plenty of character arcs and development, and it's refreshing to see a film where characters aren't as clear cut as you might expect. People make mistakes and people die because of those mistakes, but these flawed characters are all the more gripping because of that. My favourite is a case in point: Joo Jin-mo's general, who's a truly noble good guy despite the errors of judgement he sometimes makes. The rest of the cast don't disappoint either, and Zhang Ziyi is particularly good in a role that allows her to take a break from the martial arts for once.

There are three main backdrops to the unfolding story, and each of them seems fresh and unique. The first is a shifting desert landscape, the second an extensive woodland, and the third a ruined castle on the coast. There's a particular emphasis on the visual scenes and the costumes look stunning. Despite a long running time, this is engaging throughout, building up to a classic climax in which many of the good guys die bloodily and heroically. As a film, MUSA blows SEVEN SWORDS clean out of the water.

Ho-hum...Deadening serious samurai slasher.

[livinatthemovies · 3/10 · 19 August 2006]

I dunno...Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood but this flix left me cold. Except for being a little more graphically gory then most I felt that plot and action was pretty generic: the super heroes, the beautiful haughty princess, yawn...It was actually even pretty funny how two of the main heroes, the slave and the general, both were seemingly cut down and dead only to be perfectly fit and slaughtering dozens just a few scenes after their fall. Man, their powers of recovery were amazing! Not a doctor around either. The heroic leads glared their way throughout this movie. I'd rather watch The Seven Samurai for the umpteeth time that waste my time on this movie.

100 times better than the wire-fu infested Hero!

[Deepfried-Egg · 10/10 · 19 February 2007]

This is a very realistic and emotionally charged war epic with cool heroes and fight scenes that captivated my attention like no other war epic movie ever has. This movie kicks butt! This is not a wire-fu heavy martial arts pic. While this does have some martial arts in it, there is no outlandish wire-fu that really turns me off! Haven't we had enough of that? This has the elements of an American Western epic rather than than over-the-top Hong Kong cinema sword play that is just eye candy more than anything...I have a great appreciation for historical epics and this one left me more satisfied than Braveheart and Gladiator did. The reason being is that there is more than one hero to care about. And there is a spoiled rotten princess who gets treated as such. I liked how she didn't always get her way. The journey these heroes and non-heroes take through the desert kept me guessing and dying to see what would happen next. There are many pleasant surprises! I leached on to these warriors and the film makers made me want to stick with them and not miss a thing! This blows away Chinese chop socky cinema which pales in comparison after watching this epic. Outstanding performances especially by the archer! This archer played by Sung Kee is incredibly awesome!! He made Orlando Bloom's archer in LOTR look like a pansy! I really believed these guys were for real..it's that realistic! The cinematography is jaw-dropping and the story...just go rent it now!!!!!

frustratingly bad

[Jaewoo · 14 July 2004]

Someone insulted the Korean movie industry by stating this is one of Korea's best films. I must be honest, I couldn't get myself to see the entire movie, which is a rarity for me. By the time I decided to stop torturing myself the following had occurred in the movie.

1)The tempermental and rebellious "hero" who has a serious self control problem gets the entire ancient Korean Caravan in trouble with his psychotic propensity towards violence. The Caravan saves themselves and the hero with cunning and wit. 2)The "hero" puts the entire Caravan in jeopardy again by cutting off the head of one of the merchants. This time many Caravan members die but they still escape relatively intact. 3)The Caravan finds a way to escape from their dire situation but the "hero" puts an end to their salvation by doing something totally stupid and irrational. Again, the great leadership, solidarity, and fighting ability of the Caravan saves them from disaster.

By this time, I began to beg someone to have the senses to kill the "hero" who was getting everyone else killed with his irresponsible actions. Instead of languishing in frustration, I decided to use my remote control.

The "hero" is played by Jung Woo Sung, one of the worst, and yet one of the most popular, actors in Korea. The only characters he usually plays are the silent rebellious types who act angry all the time, probably to hide his lack of acting ability.

This was the most expensive movie made in Korea (few films have surpassed it since). Yet it was a box office bomb, and with a good reason.

Great battle scenes!

[smorock · 8/10 · 25 July 2006]

Although I found the story hollow and in a few points quite meaningless, I like this film a lot. Great battle scenes! Excellent 'battle choreography'! The beginning of the movie reminds me on the story of Konan, but that is the only similarity. Very successful presentation of costumes of all the warriors, according to the history sources, bravo for that. Quite good acting, only the General's character should have been played a bit more realistic. Lovely princess :) I am from Europe and I know just a bit of Chinese and history of the East in general, so it was a bit hard for me to catch the relationships between the kingdoms, maybe it would be better if there was a map of them in the movie. Director did a wonderful job, and I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys in anime kind of fight. ...And the movie could have been made shorter...

A must-see movie and a perfect warrior experience!!!!

[me_stoned_duh · 10/10 · 22 December 2004]

This is a perfect movie! from my point of view it represents all what war is. it shows it a wretched, dirty and bloody thing. this movie succeeded in achieving what many of Hollywood movies tried, but completely failed, like troy or Alexander. i consider it as good as "crouching tiger, hidden dragon", or maybe slightly less good. the feelings of the characters are miraculously expressed just through eyes and movements. the battle-scenes are really realistic and, in my opinion, there are some really cool fighting moves, especially with the spear. it's one of the best warrior movies ever made and a definite proof of the superiority of Far east cinematography over the "western" movies. the best performance was done by Zhang Ziyu(sorry, but i don't know how to spell her surname). i could actually feel the pain she suffers, as a princess, outside her "golden cage", suddenly facing the reality, as she sees people dying. all in all, this is a wonderful movie, very worthy of watching. a true visual experience for any fan of warrior movies and a good chance for those who dislike this type of movies to start liking them. A true must-see!!!