Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

prince_c3 Well, I was dumbfounded when I see both rating of this movie and number of comments. The only comfort for this outstanding movie is what ever few ratings under 30 as of today are all positive. It happens in past as well that some of the outstanding movies lost somehow and don't reach to the broader audience. This movie can easily compare to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers, Hara-Kiri & Warriors of the Rainbow. But unfortunately this movie didn't get its due credit and also publicity, because this movie don't have big names like Ang Lee or something, otherwise acting, direction, screen play, story and editing are top notch. This is a one among few war movies which shows violence and bloodshed very much but you don't feel like its just gore you feel pain, you feel brutality of the war. Of late Koreans are coming up with great movies but among all the Korean movies I have seen so far this is the BEST. A 7.1 critic rating somehow don't justify at least to me.

dixxjamm This practically blows a lot of the Hollywood historical action flicks of the last 20 years out of the water, Robin Hood and Apocalypto certainly come to mind. If this trend continues, we may turn to Asian productions if we want celluloid action in the future. They managed to get passed the star-hero martial artists action vehicles like Jet Li and Jackie Chan (which were, with few exceptions, unwatchable) and chose to emphasize simplicity and heart, rather than star-power. And it works. Too bad about some cheesiness and clichés which they don't seem to be able to shake off and the fact that the humor element is...well...Asian (I don't identify with it) because it really exceeds most HW action flicks. Not to mention that it probably costs much less to make one of these. Probably Rusell Crowe's and Bruce Willis' fees for one of their blockbusters would cover it....

Leofwine_draca WAR OF THE ARROWS is an excellent historical action flick with a twist: almost all of the action sequences are centred around bowmen facing off. Now, I've always loved archery when it's depicted in films, so I was delighted to read the premise and watch the trailer for this movie. For me, there's something intrinsically exciting about the look and the skill that goes into wielding a bow efficiently; I'd much rather watch a shoot-out staged with bows and arrows than guns. WAR OF THE ARROWS turns out to be just the film for me.As usual for the Asian historical epic genre of recent years, the film looks great. Director Han-min Kim crafts a great-looking movie that ably matches the finesse of other recent Korean movies known for their style and substance. The cast are fine, giving their all in emotive turns without ever openly overacting. And the action scenes blow you away time and again.Okay, I'll admit that the first half-hour is a little shaky. The set-up, although exciting, is followed by a slightly dull "get to know the leads" type scenario which drags a lot. Once the plot begins proper, though, it doesn't let up. There are twists and turns galore, plenty of moments of high drama, and then in the second half of the movie things turn into a virtual re-run of the Mel Gibson epic APOCALYPTO. Think a pared-down narrative, small-scale action – one versus a group – and suspense going through the roof. Yes, it's that good, and even some slightly dodgy CGI doesn't let it down. If only ROBIN HOOD, another recent film about a forest-dwelling archery champion, could have been this good!

DICK STEEL One of the largest Korean blockbusters of last year, it's not too difficult to understand why it's such a crowd pleaser of an action movie. Lone skilled marksmen almost always makes for a beeline at the box office; just look any war film and you'll probably find the sniper the sexiest of the lot for that one shot one kill mantra that gets translated on screen in romanticised terms. If it's a period piece, then that will be the skilled archer, relying on his ranged weapon to take down enemies before they even know what hit them.But it's not just plain wall to wall action from start to end, as there's a proper story to ground and root the audience emotionally to the characters involved in this period war film. Set in the 17th century, it tells of the brother and sister pair of Nam-Yi (Park Har-Il) and Ja-In (Moon Chae-Won), having to escape from a purge by the King on their household for what would be treason supposedly committed by their father. He sacrifices himself to get them going to one of his friend's abode, where they grow up and Ja-In is soon to be married to their benefactor's son Seo-Goon (Kim Mu-Yeol). But the marriage ceremony got rudely interrupted by the second invasion of the Manchus, who come in full force to plunder, rape and enslave.Separated from his sister and her groom, War of the Arrows becomes that one man bow-and- arrow Rambo who's forced into violence and killing of anyone standing in his way to be reunited with his sibling. The stage was carefully set to let the audience know just how skilled our leading protagonist is, using what would be his father's famed bow, with the ability to bend his projectiles ala Wanted, except that this is more science than science fiction. For amateur archers out there, there's also a distinction pointed out by the invading Manchu forces who compare the difference in skillset and equipment used by their lone enemy, involving a shorter and thus more mobile bow as compared to their longer versions, with a half pound arrow tip able to bust through bark, trunk and tear a hole in the body. There's also the crossbow involved, but it's just not as sexy as the traditional stringed weapon.Writer-director Kim Han-Min maintains a keen pace and never lets the narrative sag once danger sets in from all quarters, with everyone involved, both hunter and prey, realize that the tables can be turned at any time. Battles are kept tremendously tensed, with build up just like how one would arm the bow weapon, building up a good old fashion tension before letting it all rip. And a good balance is struck in keeping things quite varied rather than to be reliant on the stringed weapon all the time, especially since Seo-Goon doesn't have any fighting ability other than the ubiquitous sword. And it's not just kill or be killed as a mantra, as Nam-Yi has decent humanity put into him, never wanting to kill for the sake of, and demonstrating fair play even if the enemies fail to reciprocate.Park Hae-Il plays the mustachioed leading man with aplomb, and draws you to his cause without much fuss. Everyone will be able to identify with the need to rescue one's family and sibling, and the story has it all to include daring raids and treacherous escapes, heightened by the cat and mouse game of pursuit almost all of the time as it races toward a fantastically set up finale. Moon Chae-Won also won the 2011 Blue Dragon and Daejong Film Awards for Best Mew Actress, and it's no surprise to see why, being the feisty sister who doesn't back down without putting up a good fight, a marked difference in the standard damsel in distress role, which makes the final battle all the more exciting with a random factor thrown into the entire equation.With all round good performances and a story that sucks you in from the get go, it's a standard fare action film done right, with likable heroes and heroines and villains that you'll love to hate drawing a very clear and distinct line between good and evil, death and survival, that makes this a clear blockbuster and crowd pleaser. It's not every day that one gets to see a Robin Hood equivalent film that's grittier and more gripping with plenty of edge of your seat material, and War of the Arrows is that kind of film done to perfection. Highly recommended!