Warrior (2019) reviewed.

‘If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done’.

Words spoken by Lee Jun-Fan.

WARRIOR takes this notion to heart and follows the slick screenplay throughout it’s 10 episode season 1. (Season 2 is already in the works and I can hardly wait)

I’ve always been particularly fond of the various martial art forms throughout the world. Somehow, all said and done, it’s the CHINESE Wing Chun/Kung Fu that shines on. The most potent martial art-form. Period. Also, the most suave. Also, the legendary Lee Jun-Fan’s (BRUCE LEE) choice of art form. And that settles the argument of the best martial art form in the world.

WARRIOR pays homage to the writings of this legendary action figure; BRUCE LEE.

The protagonist is a young Chinese lad fresh out of a boat coming right from across the salt (CHINA) to the great UNITED states of America. Which were not so united back then. Some might argue they still aren’t but that’s another story. This young lad is particularly gifted and he can fight like a dream. His weapon of choice; his bare hands. And the Anglo-Japanese Andrew Koji nails this role. I can’t wait to watch him in season 2. He crosses the ocean not in search of work but with a different purpose. His skills get the attention of the underworld and soon he is part of one of the TONG’s in San Francisco Chinatown. His main job is to SCRAP. And that’s how the story starts unfolding.

WARRIOR comes from the school of modern filmmaking. The series is a visual masterpiece. The execution is so suave there really are no loose ends. The production design team has done a fab job in recreating 19th century San Francisco where there is racism, mayhem and plenty of homelessness. The costume team and the research team too are spot on. Everything feels as if it belongs in an era of post Civil war. Jonathan Tropper’s rendition based on Bruce Lee’s notes is really genre-bending and path breaking in ways. The incredible medieval action choreography is a treat to watch and the fighters; mainly Andrew Koji (Ah Sahm – The protagonist), Joe Taslim (The Indonesian wonder plays Li Yong), Jason Tobin (Young Jun) and the mighty Rich Ting (BOLO) perform seamlessly to offer us a mouth-watering visual treat. The way the series is shot maintains the tension at all times; everything; right from the mysterious characters, the changing American municipal politics, the characters involved (Langley Kirkwood as Mr. Buckley especially impresses) and the inter racial friction in 19th century America. The close face angles helps build the eerie tension and nudity and gory violence is aplenty but no one’s complaining because it fits the screenplay perfectly.

A few of the highlights of WARRIOR are the characters and their layers, the excellent camaraderie between unlikely pairs and the start credits presented in a beautifully designed graphic format. It’s all there in WARRIOR. The visuals are 19th century but the dialogues are definitely from this era. It is genre binding and genre bending all at the same time. Shot beautifully. Choreographed beautifully. Performed beautifully. Don’t miss this one. It’s out of this world. Go for all 10 flat out.

Strictly A rated. Streaming on Hotstar.