...Cliff Notes remember those?? Those revelational baskins of saving grace, we oh-so often utilized in high school literature class, when writing book reports, and making crossed-fingers-behind-the-back 'I swear' claimant, in actually having read the book...even though the 'been there-done that' English teacher...shaking her finger adamantly at the class...clearly stated, "...now, I'll know whether or not you've read the book, or merely read the 'Cliff Notes', as the latter only touches the bare-bones basic 'beat' of the story, without going into detailed specifics, as far as character and setting..."?? "And besides...", of course, she had to add, just to lay the guilt trip, "...isn't reading the actual book so much more rewarding, anyways?? Yeah, yeah...we thought that we knew better, didn't we...that is, until we saw the dreaded C+, etched in red ink, at the top of the report, which we 'labored' oh-so hard on (...it's not fair, dammit...head down, hands in pocket, kicking the dirt in defiance). But then, that's exactly how the 1920's war-torn China-set, 1996 take on the classic 'Seven Samurai' story, called "Seven Warriors", seems to come across...hitting the standard 'beats' of the story, like some sort of checklist...without really making the re-envision, special unto itself...
...the warlords have been ruthlessly divvying up the lands amongst themselves, and a number of their respective armies...when not engaged in blood-strewn warfare...have been attacking and pillaging the hapless villages, which dot the war-torn lands. When the normally bountiful annual harvest of one such village get ravaged by some of these self-serving military 'bandits', the local populous endeavor to pull their meager financial resources together, and send out a ragtag vanguard, in desperate search of willing and able-bodied men, whom they can hire, to protect their village and fight off the invading marauders. The wide-spansive trek across the lands by the scouts, manages to cough up an unlikely band of so-called 'heroes': A seasoned, burnt-out, drunken military commander. A much younger, somber and sober secondary commander. A highly skilled...in both hand combat and weapons...martial artist. A staunch and disciplined, though mostly untried soldier. An old, grizzled, entrepreneurial fortune seeker. A country bumpkin, who thinks that he knows it all. And a not-too-bright behemoth of a man, who joins up...well, just because. Be it for cause, glory, honor or riches, all find reason to undertake this conflict...and all have underlining reasons for being there. In the end, it proves not just a matter of such different personalities working together, willingly and reciprocatively against an indomitable force, but also a matter of where each of their individual loyalties truly lie...
...and as cool as it might be, to view the classic 'Seven Samurai' scenario, under a different guise or pallet...another time and place..."Seven Warriors"...in missing some prime opportunity...comes across as pretty much bland and ordinary. Missed opportunity, eh?? Why, yes...and for starters, one may not have to look further than the ill-used, stellar dream casting, in this production. Philip Kwok...Lo Lieh...Sammo Hung...Tony Leung...Wu Ma...Adam Cheng...Jacky Cheung...all quite dynamic in their presence, having collectively starred in some of the best productions, Asian cinema has readily afforded fervored audiences, over the years. And yet, in this film's instance, these great performers aren't given opportunity to render equally dynamic and charistmatic characters. Sammo Hung is relegated to a mere walk on-walk off role, and considering the overall talented cast, any opportunity for showcasing martial arts, is skewered into something...well, quite negligible and forgettable.....
...but then, that's all part of the overall 'eh, been there, seen that' blandness of the proceedings, as they are written and directed (...the latter chores, by untried Terry Tong...not Sammo Hung, as the film is often mistakenly credited)...as if the writers took a basic 'Seven Samurai' playbook, started checking off the prerequisite points of interest, as one might expect, in knowing this classic story...and leaving each point to sustain itself, rather than building and developing something, or some things...character-wise and situation-wise...which ideally and memorably stand out. 'Village Plagued by Bandit'?? Check!! Moving on...'Scouting Party, in Search of Hireable Defenders'?? Check!! 'Forlorn, Burnt-Out Leader'?? Check!! 'Fortune Seeker, In It for the Money'?? Check!! 'Teaching the Villagers How to Fight'?? Check!! 'Duelling Personalities and Questionable Loyalties'?? Check!! 'Final Showdown'?? Check!! And so on, and so forth...with an overall promise to the audience, which is never really fulfilled, or if at the very least minimally fulfilled, then resigned to '...OK, now what??'.....
...for the uninitiated, "Seven Warriors" might strike some respectable interest; however, for the lot of us, who have rallied around much stronger and more dynamic incarnations of the 'Seven Samurai' story, by way of greater characterization and execution of premise...John Sturges' regally classic 1960 old-west oater, "The Magnificent Seven"...Akira Kurosawa's masterful 1954 action and character play of swords and honor, itself...heck, even Roger Corman's campy, post-Star Wars knock-off from 1980, "Battle Beyond the Stars"..."Seven Warriors" may well be merely a shoulder-shrugger...a mere popping spark of a film, which really should be an eye-popping explosion.....
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