Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

War of the Arrows Blu-ray Movie Review

Man on a mission.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 15, 2012

The relationship between China and Korea is little understood in the Western world, as evidenced by the developments over just the past few days when a purported assassination of North Korea’s new leader Kim Jong-un sent Chinese forces mobilizing to prevent—well, what exactly? The fact that not even China knew for at least a little while that Kim Jong-un had not in fact been killed is testament to two facts: first, how closed off and insular the North Korean society really is, even to its ostensible allies; and second, that China has no issues in appropriating the Korean peninsula as its “own,” at least within certain proscribed limits. There was only one Korea back in the early 17th century, and it was not an especially robust nation. In fact it wasn’t really a unified nation at all, but a series of territories, many of which found themselves repeatedly invaded by China, as that immense country sought to absorb neighboring areas to maintain its strategic dominance over that part of the world. The early years of the seventeenth century saw two massive invasions by China’s Manchu Qing empire as it sought to reign in whatever power Korea’s Joseon Dynasty managed to cling onto in that tumultuous time. War of the Arrows is a Korean historical epic that fictionalizes aspects of the Second Manchu Invasion of circa 1636, positing a Joseon hero who is aces with a bow and arrow as he pretty much single handedly takes out an invading horde of Qing warriors. The interesting thing about War of the Arrows is it deals with the sociopolitical aspects of this history only tangentially, for the real reason this Korean hero is on the march is because his sister has been kidnapped and he’s seeking to free her from a life of servitude. That boils down huge historical movements into the interplay between just a handful of characters, and that intimate approach gives War of the Arrows its unique and often quite compelling appeal.

War of the Arrows blasts out of the gate with an exciting, if somewhat disturbing, prologue that shows our eventual hero Nam-Yi (played by Park Hae-Il as an adult) and his toddler sister Ja-in (played by Moon Chae-won as an adult) as children, who find themselves in the midst of a horrifying attack on their palace, with their father the obvious target. Nam-Yi manages to drag Ja-in away from the turmoil, but only after he has vowed to his doomed father to take care of her and watch over her, come what may. The father soon meets a gruesome end at the hands of the palace invaders, who repeatedly scream that he has been a traitor. Nam-Yi manages to get Ja-in to safety at the home of one of his father’s allies, a man who raises the two children as his own, more or less. We then fast forward a decade and a half or so to find Nam-Yi as a young man, one troubled and conflicted by his supposed reputation of being a traitor’s son. Ja- in, on the other hand, seems somewhat better adjusted to her situation and as this segment of the film gets underway, finds herself betrothed to Seo-gun (Kim Mu-Yeol), the son of the man who has served as Ja-in and Nam-Yi’s protector and virtual stepfather.

On the verge of her wedding day, Ja-in once again finds herself in the midst of an invading force when the compound she’s living in is attacked and she, as well as several other Joseon men and women, are rounded up and taken hostage by Qing warriors. Nam-Yi has been up in the hills hunting deer, as despite his inability to come to terms with his past, he has still become an incredible archer. Nam-Yi hears the tumult below but of course gets to the compound too late. That sets him off on what is initially a one man mission to free Ja-in and others being held hostage and by default his own people from being under the thumb of the Qing invaders.

War of the Arrows is both wildly improbable as well as improbably entertaining. The film has been a spectacular success in South Korea, but its historical background may make it a bit of a harder sell for Western audiences. Truth be told, however, the film works perfectly well as a simple revenge drama even without the historical trappings with which its decorated. Nam-yi is out to free his enslaved sister, and that’s really all anyone needs to know going into this film. The fact that he more or less individually is able to defeat an entire army is of course fanciful, but director Kim Han-min focuses on the gritty determination of Nam-yi without over emphasizing the frankly incredible feats he routinely pulls off more or less without a hitch.

The film slowly but surely cuts (literally) through a swath of characters until it whittles the cast down to only three left standing, Nam-Yi, Ja-in and the chief bad guy (you were expecting anything less?). Across a huge field through which the wind gently streams, a trio of desperate people find themselves holed up together, attempting to come to a “final solution.” War of the Arrows moves toward its semi-tragic conclusion with a certain inimitable force. There’s nothing especially surprising about the outcome here, and in fact much of this film is decidedly predictable, but with good performances and some really incredibly beautiful location photography, War of the Arrows delivers a lot of viscerally exciting action. There’s next to no martial arts wizardry in this film; instead Han-min, evidently long an aficionado of the bow and arrow, makes the most of that “technology” in the film’s frequent set pieces. It’s to Han- min’s credit that he doesn’t give in to a lot of arrow-based visual clichés (there are no shots from an arrow’s “point of view”). The film is impeccably well staged and for the most part very well performed, with a lack of overt hyperbole that helps establish it as more of an intimate historical epic than a more routine action flick.

War of the Arrows Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

War of the Arrows is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This is a beautifully sharp and consistent looking high definition presentation that offers striking fine detail (especially with regard to the film's sumptuous sets and costumes, which pop magnificently throughout) and accurate looking color. There are occasional filtered scenes, often in a blue-grey cast, which give the film a somewhat smoother ambience than is otherwise on display. Depth of field in the many outdoor shots (the bulk of this film takes place outside) is really amazing. Contrast and black levels are also strong and consistent throughout the presentation.

War of the Arrows Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both the original Korean soundtrack as well as a fair to middling English dub are presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 mixes. While the English dub isn't outright horrible, it suffers from the usual mismatch of syllabification and mouth movement, though the translations are relatively close to the subtitles that accompany the Korean language version. The overall mix between the English and Korean versions sound virtually identical. Purists will of course want to default to the original Korean language version, which offers sterling fidelity and some excellent immersive moments throughout the film. A lot of these deal with expected sound effects, like the panning "whiz" of an arrow flying through the air. But there are also some really appealing and artfully done ambient environmental effects as well. Especially noteworthy is the great use of a gentle breeze in the climactic showdown, which filters through the surround channels and becomes a virtual character in and of itself (it crops up in the dialogue and plays a part in the outcome of the film). Dynamic range is superb throughout this track, and the overall mix is very well done as well.

War of the Arrows Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes (SD; 4:14) has director Kim Hanmin talking about his fascination with arrows, as well as several other cast and crew members offering some short comments.
• Highlights (SD; 3:19) plays like an extended trailer.
• Original Trailer (SD; 1:09)
• Trailer (HD; 1:38)

War of the Arrows Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

War of the Arrows isn't especially innovative (other than its focus on bows and arrows rather than fists and feet), but it is sumptuously produced, well acted, and very well staged. With a well reasoned emphasis on a personal story, rather than indulging in a sociopolitical screed, War of the Arrows doesn't require its audiences to be well schooled in the background between China and Korea to fully understand what's going on in the film. While some elements of the film are undeniably ludicrous, there's also something to be said for a film which urges its audience to root for an underdog who has the odds stacked considerably against him. With really great looking visuals and excellent audio, despite this release not having a glut of supplementary material, it comes Recommended.