[Note: I saw parts 1 & 2, not the truncated/combined version.]
With comparable screen time devoted to the Seediq (Taiwan's indigenous people) indulging in both massacres and bracing acts of self-sacrifice, Wei Te-Sheng's film manages to be one of those hard-to-pull-off war movies that are both appalling and rousing. With the exception of an unfortunate postscript that literalizes a spiritual concept that had previously been metaphoric (for the audience, that is), the presentation here is very much a thinking-person's action/adventure film. With echoes of everything from John Ford movies and Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans to Avatar and even the Rambo flicks, Warriors of The Rainbow unleashes 4+ hours of bloody spectacle that creates something fresh and moving out of what might first appear to be pretty stale ingredients. How does Wei pull this off? For starters, you'll rarely see an epic that is less lazy. With incredible attention paid to both the quiet scenes and the kinetic set pieces, the film demands respect even when you're not quite sure where it's leading you. What's more, the production design, stunt work, editing, and similar technical elements are all, I'm guessing, among the tops you'll see this year. For these reasons, and for its grand yet complex mythologizing of warriorhood, you'll be forgiven if you see echoes of Kurosawa and Lean in it. Yes, the approach here is less "literary" in flavor than what those filmmakers are known for, but you'll get caught up in the sweep of the battle scenes just the same. Sure, there are some problematic issues and themes that deserve scrutiny, but the bottom line is that if you're a cinephile, and especially one when it comes to Asian cinema, this is a film you won't want to miss catching on the big screen