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    SG1 - Tony Amendola: Review of the "Forbidden Warrior"

    From Kung Fu Cinema:

    http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/...ior_110905.htm

    (There's one photo of Tony Amendola at the site. Please follow the link for the complete review. This movie was just released on DVD in the US.)

    :: REVIEWS ::.

    Forbidden Warrior (2004)

    Rated: One star

    Forbidden Warrior is the kind of movie I wish I could recommend or support. It's a low budget American production with big aims as a character-driven fantasy that stars mostly unknown Asian-American actors, with varying degrees of potential. It also has a few notable talents in supporting roles including the great James Hong and action director Ron Yuan. It's truly an ambitious attempt at mixing limited CGI magic, Chinese myth, drama, and competent martial arts action that's quite literally amplified by a thunderous John Williams-esque score. And yet, it's a complete failure.

    Any good movie, regardless of its budget, starts with a good script and that's where the trouble begins for Forbidden Warrior. For Star Wars, George Lucas had an enormous amount of back story and thought on Western mythology and storytelling and Eastern cinema that provided fertile soil for his myth-telling creation. But in Forbidden Warriors, Glen Hartford and Rod Hewitt take a reference to an obscure Chinese legend concerning a book of magic and practically go nowhere with it. The whole movie is a stiff build up to nothing, where underdeveloped and occasionally ludicrous characters engage in more pointless chatter than in any sort of meaningful action or interaction.

    **snippity doo-dah**


    :: DVD REVIEWS ::.


    Distributor: MTI Home Video
    Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC
    Length: 91 min
    Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1)
    Audio Tracks: English
    Subtitles: Spanish

    Notes: Video and audio quality is fairly good. The picture seems to darken on the sides a bit and the resolution isn't great. The soundtrack is cranked a little too high compared with dialogue and sound effects though.

    Extras: There is an audio commentary with producer Daniel Toll, director Jimmy Nickerson and someone else I couldn't identify, possibly Glen Hardford. Unfortunately, if you're like me and find this film and its creators to be out of touch with the reality of what makes a movie enjoyable then you'll not likely find anything of interest here. A Making Of feraturette (24 min) includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew. There is some time spent on exploring the action and and stunt work. The most interesting portion deals with composer Mike Verta and the making of the orchestral soundtrack. There are also trailers for other indie martial arts movies X-Treme Fighter and The Vault.

    Picture: 4 1/2 stars
    Sound: 4 stars
    Extras: 2 stars

    Available at Amazon.com


    |*|(*)|*|(*)|*|

    Morjana

    SG1/SGA/SGU - Saving Earth/Atlantis/?, one mission at a time!
    SG1-Spoilergate Richard Dean Anderson Fans Abydos Gate Morjana
    Morjana's Blog Twitter

    #2
    Originally posted by morjana
    From Kung Fu Cinema:

    http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/...ior_110905.htm

    (There's one photo of Tony Amendola at the site. Please follow the link for the complete review. This movie was just released on DVD in the US.)

    :: REVIEWS ::.

    Forbidden Warrior (2004)

    Rated: One star

    Forbidden Warrior is the kind of movie I wish I could recommend or support. It's a low budget American production with big aims as a character-driven fantasy that stars mostly unknown Asian-American actors, with varying degrees of potential. It also has a few notable talents in supporting roles including the great James Hong and action director Ron Yuan. It's truly an ambitious attempt at mixing limited CGI magic, Chinese myth, drama, and competent martial arts action that's quite literally amplified by a thunderous John Williams-esque score. And yet, it's a complete failure.

    Any good movie, regardless of its budget, starts with a good script and that's where the trouble begins for Forbidden Warrior. For Star Wars, George Lucas had an enormous amount of back story and thought on Western mythology and storytelling and Eastern cinema that provided fertile soil for his myth-telling creation. But in Forbidden Warriors, Glen Hartford and Rod Hewitt take a reference to an obscure Chinese legend concerning a book of magic and practically go nowhere with it. The whole movie is a stiff build up to nothing, where underdeveloped and occasionally ludicrous characters engage in more pointless chatter than in any sort of meaningful action or interaction.

    **snippity doo-dah**


    :: DVD REVIEWS ::.


    Distributor: MTI Home Video
    Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC
    Length: 91 min
    Aspect Ratio: Widescreen (2.35:1)
    Audio Tracks: English
    Subtitles: Spanish

    Notes: Video and audio quality is fairly good. The picture seems to darken on the sides a bit and the resolution isn't great. The soundtrack is cranked a little too high compared with dialogue and sound effects though.

    Extras: There is an audio commentary with producer Daniel Toll, director Jimmy Nickerson and someone else I couldn't identify, possibly Glen Hardford. Unfortunately, if you're like me and find this film and its creators to be out of touch with the reality of what makes a movie enjoyable then you'll not likely find anything of interest here. A Making Of feraturette (24 min) includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with cast and crew. There is some time spent on exploring the action and and stunt work. The most interesting portion deals with composer Mike Verta and the making of the orchestral soundtrack. There are also trailers for other indie martial arts movies X-Treme Fighter and The Vault.

    Picture: 4 1/2 stars
    Sound: 4 stars
    Extras: 2 stars

    Available at Amazon.com


    |*|(*)|*|(*)|*|

    Morjana
    You forgot to mention that Shaunac is in the movie (although in a minor part)
    "In the middle of my back swing?!"

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