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Fresh and Exciting

Absolutely Fantastic

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Blistering performances.

Its a must watch film especially for archery fans.. Most probably this might be the best archery movie you might have ever seen.Plot is as simple as that,"Elder brother Nam Yi being regarded as traitor's son with archery inherited in his blood becomes the Saviour of his abducted younger sister Ja in during Manchu invasion of Korea.This showcases not only archery but the thriller and the exciting screenplay makes the viewers to sit at the tip of seats. Kudos to the cinematographer and director.Being a Korean periodic movie everybody would be expecting unbelievable fights but what keeps the movie in track is believable sharp archery from both protagonists and antagonists.

I loved this film from start to finish. The story line was plausible, the plot was well developed and the characters were believable. The biggest bonus for me in this film is that the combat scenes/martial arts sequences were believable and realistic. So many of the recent films of this genre have had fight scenes which basically bordered on the ridiculous. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for example was basically a choreographed high wire act for much of the movie and in honest, just a tad silly! Hopefully we will see more of this type of film from this part of the world. The only thing which was a bit weak was the tiger scenes. Possibly a little more resource could have been thrown at this? The soundtrack was also interesting. It did occasionally drift into very familiar Territory, i.e. you felt you'd heard that music in a similar type of movie?

This is a stylish and sleek movie that is unduly criticized by many, especially those from other Asian countries as can be seen among other reviews here.Most do not seem to understand the main point of this movie because they do not know the historical background this movie was set against and consequently they just think this is a ripoff of Hollywood.The time ... the 17th century. Korea just repelled the Japanese invasion with Ming China's aid which alternated between being an ally and being racist tormentors of the Korean populace.Manchu(Jurchens) were a nation of fierce warriors from the north, or they thought of themselves that way at least. They had been under the Chinese yoke and just threw it off. They are eventually to invade China proper and to rule over Chinese for the next 300 years. If you saw Last Emperor you will understand this historical setting.An important thing to remember here is that they were NOT Chinese. Their hatred of Chinese was immense, almost pathological.(and the reason that they invaded Korea was precisely that the Korean court acted like a vassal of Ming China.) This contrasts very sharply with today's Manchu who think of themselves as Chinese.Just 40 years prior to this event there was the infamous Japanese invasion of Korea and Ming China sent a force to aid Koreans. But this force came from Liatung base, the primary function of which was to suppress Jurchens and Mongols.Even though that war ended in the victory for Korea and China this created a power vacuum in Manchuria as Ming China no longer controlled the region effectively. This is how the Jurchens(Manchu) rose to power. They were burning with hatred of Chinese for their condescending and racist treatments of their people.The Korean King who was the crown prince at the time of the Japanese invasion ascended to the throne in the early 17th century. And because of his war time experience he was a practical man and saw the newly arising Manchu as a force to reckon with. He tried to be neutral between Ming China and Manchu.However he was deposed by a group of Korean nobility and they tried to justify their coup with a more pro china stance. This is how Manchu invaded Korea twice and the second one was more catastrophic as shown in this movie.So this movie is about the anger of the Korean masses felt toward the effete and effeminate Korean nobility class who were incredibly more loyal to Chinese than to their own people. It is about a war that could have been avoided if the Korean King at the time(generally regarded as the weakest and the most effeminate king in the history of Korea) and the nobility could back their word with action or had a more practical sense.The Korean government did not help their people, actually did not even want to as long as they could hold onto their power, so the people had to help themselves against all odds. This is the basic premise of this film.Anyway for those who are not interested in Korean or East Asian history... Manchu are not Chinese and the language they spoke in the movie was not Chinese.(In fact it was the Manchu language which is now dead. It was recreated from the Korean records of the Manchu language. The movie creator deserves some credit for this.)If you can free yourself from this common misconception that Manchu were just a type of Chinese people you are already half-way there. Manchu were no more Chinese than Mongols are.

War of the Arrows is a story about a young man in hot pursuit of a marauding Manchurian army that has captured and enslaved his sister and her groom on their wedding day in 15th century Korea. Wayward though the young man may be, he's a savant with the bow and arrow and he puts his deadly skills to use as he relentlessly pursues the attackers.Although it doesn't involve the gun battles typically associated with the genre, this film is really more war movie than action flick. The film rarely deviates from the harried cat-and-mouse game between the marauders and the ostensible hero and could mistakenly be seen as taking place in real time. Therein lies one of the film's problems. The chase sequences and flurry of arrows piercing the air are relentless and absorb nearly all the film's running time, leaving little room for plot or character development. This film is all style over substance: it's barbarian Manchurians (the baddies) vs. salt-of-the-earth Koreans (the goodies).We know the Manchurians are the baddies not just because they throw Korean babies down wells but because they're the cool ones, with their brass-studded leather coats, shaved heads or razor-edged mohawks, and general exhibition of badassery. They are lead by a playboy prince who prefers to spend his time ravishing newly captured women in a garish mobile bordello; he leaves the details and actual fighting to his uber-macho uncles and the elite squad of warriors they personally command. But little else is known about them. Is their attack part of an all-out invasion of the Korean peninsula or a quick raid across the border for booty? Why is the pampered prince, who appears to have no military role, even there? Certain early scenes suggest the possibility of a strained relationship between the young prince and his all-warrior business uncles, but it's never explored. There are no strategy sessions between the prince and his commanders or among the uncles and their elite warriors that might flesh out the characters.As for the Koreans, little time is spent preparing us for the mayhem that ensues. At the onset, the hero is a teenager who barely escapes his family's destruction with only his little sister and his father's prized bow and arrows in tow. Flash forward thirteen years and the hero is a wayward fellow with mean archery skills who reluctantly allows his sister's marriage to their benefactor's son to proceed. The relationship between and among these characters is barely explored. There are no tender scenes between brother and sister or the betrothed that make us yearn for reunification after separation and much bloodshed. Ironically, one of the film's best sequences involves the pampered prince attempting to have his way with the pretty sister. Her feistiness and the fact that she speaks his language intrigue him. He likens seducing her to tanning a tiger's hide, as her roughness will become supple under his handiwork. The brief battle of wills between these two characters, and the mild sexual tension elicited, provide a much-needed break from the pure action-oriented sequences that predominate. Unfortunately, the prince is killed-off far too soon and the rescue of the girl half-way through the film leaves the finale somewhat anti-climatic. The final confrontation may be dramatic by virtue of the manner in which the arrow battle is executed but, emotionally, it falls flat.The failure to adequately develop the plot isn't the only flaw with this movie. While the cast is for the most part good, the lead male is woefully miscast. Aside from possessing superior archery skills, there's little to distinguish the hero from the other household staff who are caught up in the mayhem. Quite simply, he lacks the charisma and screen presence to carry this film, which is propelled almost exclusively by the baddies. They possess the macho physicality and exhibit the serious badass 'tude required for their roles. Although the story compels me to feel something for the hero, I found myself far more interested in the invaders. I enjoyed the film for what it was, but was left emotionally flat-lined at the end because of its flaws.