War of the Arrows (2011)

War of the Arrows: Directed by Han-min Kim. With Park Hae-il, Seung-ryong Ryu, Mu-Yeol Kim, Moon Chae-Won. A skilled Korean archer goes up against the mighty force of Manchus with the sole purpose of rescuing his kidnapped sister.

“The very mention of arrows in a movie makes us think of Legolas. You know, that dude in The Lord of the Rings trilogy? The elf with straight silky golden locks who never misses when he shoots his unlimited supply of arrows? While Orlando Bloom has made quite an impression with that suave character, the arrow shooting men in this Korean production are a different breed altogether. They are rough, ragged and, well, to put it simply, manly. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSet during the second Manchu invasion of Korea, the manliest one of them all in this movie has to be the protagonist played by Park Hae Il, who goes against the Qing Dynasty to save his younger sister. He also happens to be the best archer in Korea, but because his father was killed as a traitor, one can imagine how limited his future in the country is. One unfortunate follows another, when his younger sister is abducted during her wedding ceremony. Thus begins the quest to save her sister and her husband from the Qing army. In the process, countless arrows are shot, and as youu0026#39;d expect from a revenge movie, there will be lots of blood.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDirector Kim Han Minu0026#39;s work was the second highest grossing movie in Korea last year, and it is not difficult to see why. The fast paced epic action movie boasts of exhilarating sequences which will keep you at the edge of your seats. While you may wonder how a war of arrows can possibly be exciting, you will be thrilled by the perfect execution and choreography of the battle scenes (beat that, Legolas!). The action comes at you fast and furious, and even though there arenu0026#39;t many hand to hand combat, the long distance fighting is heart stopping and riveting.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story may be based on a period of Korean history which we arenu0026#39;t very familiar with, but the filmmakers make sure it doesnu0026#39;t alienate foreign viewers. Essentially, it is a story about heroism, justice and revenge – universal themes which anyone can identify with. This creates a win win situation: Box office success both at home and in foreign lands.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe 122 minute production, being an action flick, does not provide many emotionally engaging moments. Not that we are complaining though, because for most of the movie, you see the protagonist either chasing his sisteru0026#39;s kidnappers, or the bad guys chasing him. There are invasions, battles, confrontations and quarrels. The set pieces are impressive, and there is quite a bit of decent use of computer graphics to enhance the storytelling. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe ensemble cast does a nice job of portraying the anguish and tension felt by the characters during this war of arrows. Park manages to exude a respectable charm with his predictably written character, while the fragile looking Moon Chae Won plays his sister in distress with grace and elegance. The two actors took home the Best Actor and Best New Actress at the 2011 Daejong Film Awards, an established award presented by Koreau0026#39;s Ministry of Culture and Information. The film also took home the accolades for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Effects.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis undeniably enjoyable popcorn production packs just the right amount of punch and pizazz to engage and entertain for a good two hours at the movies”