Starring Irfan Khan, Puru Chibber, Aino Annuddin, Noor Mani
Written By:
Directed By: Asif Kapadia
Studio: Miramax
Buy on Amazon.com link

The Warrior is a British film about a warrior who turns his back on his lord and seeks to live out the rest of his life in peace. The problem with that is that his former lord wants his head in a sack.

I’m not a big fan of foreign films, especially the ones with subtitles in them. The Warrior was a deceptive title for a film with very little action and long drawn out scenes about nothing. To me the film was much more of a cinematic film than an action movie like The Last Samurai or Gladiator. Sure, the stunning visuals were spectacular (the film was shot on location in India) but the pace of the movie was very slow. The gist of the action took place in the first quarter of the movie while the other three quarters of the film crawled by. There seemed to be scene after scene of the warrior walking around in the desert, entering a village, and then leaving the village to walk around in the desert some more.

Putting the slow pace of the movie aside along with my assumption that this would be an action movie, the story itself was decent. The main character Lafcadia was the leader of a group of ruthless individuals called “the Warriors” who would carry out their lord’s every wish. If a representative from a particular village or town could not provide the lord with an offering, the Warriors would ride into their town killing men, raping the women and then burn the village to the ground. Lafcadia seemed to get bored with this lifestyle (it was confusing to me as to why he finally left the Warriors) and wanted to start a new life with his son. Lafcadia’s lord did not take kindly to him deserting his master and sent the remaining Warriors on a headhunt for Lafcadia’s head. The story wasn’t heavy on dialogue so you really had to follow along closely as to where Lafcadia was going to or where he was at a certain time. Lafcadia was heading to a place that he called home somewhere in the Himalayan Mountains. He met a young man who had escaped from his slave master and who tagged along out of curiosity. Lafcadia wanted to go home and live in peace and atone for his sins.

Like I had mentioned before, after Lafcadia had abandoned the Warriors, there was almost no action afterwards. Lafcadia had one encounter with a fellow Warrior but he did not even try to fight him. The boy who was tagging along with him did most of the work and all that Lafcadia had to do was slit the guys throat. There were a few moments that I found both confusing and ridiculous. I’m not sure how long Lafcadia had served his lord, years it seems, but when the Warriors bring back the head of another man in hopes of escaping their own beheading due to the failure of finding the true Lafcadia, the lord is not sure if it is Lafcadia’s head or not. I’m not sure how you could not recognize the leader of a group that has served you personally for years. One of the other parts that confused me was the little girl that had met up with Lafcadia’s son Katiba. Lafcadia seemed to have flashbacks about a girl but I’m not sure if it was the same girl or even what purpose it had in the story.

The Warrior wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be, but it did have its moments. The cinematography was one of the films best features. Not relying heavily on dialogue, the realistic feel of actually being in the same setting as was on screen was captivating. The lead character, Lafcadia who was first portrayed as a ruthless killer, was revealed to be a caring individual with a sense of honor that had been twisted but eventually set on the right path. The characters were very down to earth and you could relate to their story because many of the actors weren’t really actors but people off the street who play themselves in the film. This definitely gave the film a more realistic feel to it. I wish more movies would cast true-life people for the roles that they actually play in life. If you wish to indulge in a cultural film and you enjoy foreign films, then “The Warrior” is worth checking out. For everyone else, The Warrior is a decent film with a decent story but it seems to be lacking a backbone. With a title like The Warrior, you’ll find that the warrior aspect as well as the action that you would assume goes with it is missing. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon it is not.

Features:
Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
The Making of The Warrior
Feature Commentary

Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Original Language Track (Hindi)

Video:
Widescreen (2.35:1)

Subtitles:
English and Spanish subtitles

Favorite Scenes: Lafcadias son lying about his fathers death and suffering the consequences, the trek to the Himalayas, Lafcadia finally making it home, the Making of feature.
Rating: R
Running Time: 87 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: