Weak, very weak

Rating: 4/10 (19 March 2007)

This movie is effectively a cheesy action movie stealing parts from movies that were actually good.
The acting is sub-par and wooden with dialog that is at best cliché and predictable. The scenes are delivered with a rote performance more worthy of a B-movie without the fun.
The camera work in this film is intriguing but out of place. The movie is shot almost as a series of still images between pulses of action or dialog, kind of a heart-beat affect on the motion of the film. The problem is this is basically an action and those slow pulses do nothing but grind it to a halt and kill scenes that were otherwise flowing well.
Every battle sequence in this movie is filmed as if a group of gamers were playing a turn-based game and wanted to illustrate on film how a turn-based war game works. This is not however anything remotely similar to real combat thus giving the battle scenes a complete staged feel and taking away any possibility of being engrossed in them. You will not find the quality fight choreography of Lord of the Rings here though you will find many of its elements stolen and reused. Simple advice to whoever choreographed the fight scenes: Yes, gamers know and understand what a phalanx maneuver is but for the most part your audience neither knows nor cares. It was not necessary to spend thirty minutes illustrating and explaining this maneuver.
The special effects were par for the course, you will find nothing noteworthy here. The special effects may have actually been better than I give them credit for being but the entire film was shot using so many dark filters you can barely see the backdrops. The camera work seemed to randomly jump from close up framed shots to long zooms.
In summation, I would consider this film's initial success to a very good marketing campaign. I hope no one is dumb enough to pay to see this movie twice. Wait until it comes out on cable and then watch something else.
P.S. Question to the makers of this film: What the hell was with the Kabuki Ninjas and gargantuan elephants? Do you even understand the concept of making a period movie?