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The Golden Cane Warrior
2014; directed by Ifa Isfansyah

Heavily inspired by classic wuxia (fantasy swordsplay) novels, the Indonesian release The Golden Cane Warrior doesn't get up to the heights of Hong Kong pillars of the genre such as Swordsman or The Bride with White Hair, but it is a fun and entertaining picture that fans of this type of film should enjoy.

The story is a fairly well-worn tale revolving around the titular weapon, which was handed down to two young students. This doesn't sit well with a pair of older pupils, so they set about to get the cane back so they can establish themselves as the premiere fighters in the land. The generic elements of the story, along with an overlong running time, are The Golden Cane Warrior's main hurdles. Most fans have seen this sort of story done many times before, and to have it stretched to almost two hours leads to the film feeling a bit plodding at times.

Golden Cane Warrior

Of course, many of you out there are more concerned with the martial arts quotient of the film, and, for what it is, the action (which was helmed by Hong Kong/Chinese action veteran Hung Yan-Yan, aka Xin-Xin Xiong) is pretty good. It's nothing mind-blowing -- purists will rankle at the use of wire effects and quick camera cuts -- and, given that this is more of a film aimed at a family audience, there not much bloodshed or violence to speak of. But there are several fight scenes that are well done, most of the best work bring the stuff that (not surprisingly) leans heavily on the employment of canes to deliver impact.

What also help matters is that The Golden Cane Warrior is a great looking film. The budget was "only" US$2 million, which is actually fortune for an Indonesian production, but the film has a wonderfully colorful and lush mise en scene, with the stunning natural settings brought to vivid life via outstanding cinematography.

RATING: 6

This movie has been released in North America by Well Go USA. Bonus features include trailers for the movie and several other Well Go releases. The movie is available on Blu-ray and DVD from Amazon.

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