I’ll spare you the obligatory archery themed pun; a few arrows short of a Quiver, Just misses the mark, Bullseye etc.
Instead, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to know War of the Arrows is actually very entertaining!
Comparisons with House of Flying Daggers are obvious and immediate, both feature chase narratives and projectile weaponry. However, in many ways, War of the Arrows is the film HOFD wishes it was. Though not nearly as colourful, it lacks the pretension, lengthy exposition and incoherent plotting.
Sagely, War instead draws itself taught for a gripping two hours of curving quarrels, spurting gore and CG tigers.
War is a hefty beast clocking in at 122 minutes. When Cine Asia titles reach such runtimes, it’s usually an indication something has gone awry. Yet somehow, it still feels lean with each scene driving the story or grinding the tension. With minimal setup, toxophilite Nam Yi (Hae-il Park) is gifted with cause and justification to employ his otherworldly skills in a daring attempt to rescue his sister.
The bulk of War concerns said rescue attempt and, naturally, any subsequent escape sequences. This more or less equates to two solid hours of cavalry charges, bladed melees and lethal archery contests. The former aren’t especially inspired, yet lashings of gore and screaming combatants certainly help sell the violence.
Predictably, pointy sticks flung by taught strings are the focus here, and it makes for a pleasant change of pace, for once stealing the limelight from fists, feet and blades. And though the devastating ‘half-pounders’ and side-winding bolts are a joy to behold, one can’t shake the impression War didn’t quite showcase archery at its utmost.
A handful more “Holy S**t” draws wouldn’t have gone amiss.
This remains a minor complaint as the half hour finale boasts its share. Meanwhile hero Nam-Yi makes for a refreshingly ruthless protagonist. In addition to impaling foes with wooden projectiles, he’s happy to burn them alive or introduce a monstrously oversized tiger into proceedings if it gets the job done.
But in his defence, wouldn’t you?
Considering I expected this to be a dreary, contemplative exercise on instilling the virtues of archery (patience, stillness, tranquillity, I dunno, other boring stuff?) into one’s soul, War of the Arrows proved a gory treat!
Essentially a two-hour chase scene, crammed with courageous heroes, relentless villains and solid, meaty action, as a medium for advertising the intrinsic coolness of archery, War of the Arrows puts its contemporaries, notably 2010’s Robin Hood to shame.
To shame, Mr Scott, to shame!
Jack McGlynn
Format: Anamorphic, Dolby, PAL, Surround Sound, Widescreen
Region: Region 2
Number of discs: 1
Classification: 15
Studio: Cine-Asia
DVD Release Date: 7th May 2012
Run Time: 118 minutes
