As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

"Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely." While I might be inclined to argue the point, I won't: KUNDO is about as Western an Eastern as you're ever likely to see (the music in particular harks back to the spaghetti westerns of yore, underscoring, if you will, the obvious influence). When our hero, the butcher Dolmuchi, botches an assassination attempt (he can't bring himself to go through with it), his family is slaughtered and he joins the ranks of the Chusul clan in their village hidden in Mount Jiri: "Comprised of those shunned and rejected by society, they despised greed and unfair authority, loathed those who favored social status over ability, and disdained those who valued the dead more than the living." Now known as "Dochi," he's told to "Live a worthy life." In time, he will face Master Jo Yoon, the man who killed his family. Unfortunately, KUNDO trots out the deus ex machina near film's end- a Gattling gun, of all things- and the tide turns (as well it might) in favor of blah blah blah. That's the only real complaint I have with KUNDO, other than its length (it DOES run a bit long), but some of the action is great (I love the scenes where a very powerful warrior literally SLAPS a pair of attackers out of his way). The movie sums up contemporary politics here in the West well enough when a female warrior says, "Those who've tasted money thirst for more, and public officials are the worst." Some things, it seems, are indeed Universal.

Imagine if you took an Italian western, Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" and "Robin Hood" and then transported all this to 19th century Korea. This is pretty much what you get in Jong-bin Yun's masterpiece, "Kundo: Age of the Rampant". It's a new martial arts epic that I cannot recommend strongly enough--and fans of this sort of picture are bound to be satisfied with this excellent film.The film begins during the latter years of the long Joseon Dynasty. The country is racked with famine, disease and locusts. But these locusts aren't the kind you're thinking of...they're the human kind. These are the various lords and governors who exploit the people and make the suffering and starvation even worse--as they strip the land from the people and force them into slavery. However, an honorable gang of bandits have made it their mission to right wrongs, care for the poor and punish the evil men in charge. For a while, their mission goes off without a hitch, as bureaucrat after bureaucrat are captured and sentenced for their crimes. However, one of these evil men, Yo-Joon, is something else. He is not only among the most evil and bloodthirsty, but he's an incredible fighter and more than a match for any of these Robin Hood-style bandits. Plus, he has his loyal band of seven evil warlords and an army...what good could these bandits do against such odds? Well, being heroes, they do what heroes must do even if the mission seems like certain death.The film's plot is very reminiscent of an old western and the music really heightens the effect. It's not exactly Ennio Morricone's in style but has many similarities to his scores that this great and very prolific Italian composer wrote for epics such as "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and "A Fistful of Dollars". It's rousing and energetic to say the least. And, the main bandit, Dochi, is also cut from the same mold as these great old films. All in all, a terrific film that features top-notch acting, music and production values--as good as any martial arts movie you could find. See this film...just don't take your young kids. Only a crazy person would let them watch this film or films like it. It's extremely realistic in its violence and bloodshed--as you would expect. So, even if they beg you, find another film for them and watch this one when the little ones are asleep, as it clearly earns its R rating.

I personally thought this movie was alright and what standout about this movie the most is the cast. In a way the story is sort of similar to "Robin Hood" except there is no love interest between the protagonist and someone else. And it puts quite a bit of emphasis on the sword fighting martial arts sequences. There isn't many standout action sequence, except maybe on scene where the vicious nobleman takes on a group of bandits by himself (which is probably the best scene in the movie). Overall, this is a rebellion movie about peasants that got pushed around too far by corrupt officials and they decide to stand and fight. When it comes to the core, it's basically a story about a butcher that lost everything going up against nobleman who has father issues. In fact more than the butcher who is basically the hero or anti-hero of the story is one of the least interesting characters. And the most interesting one in this flick being the pretty boy nobleman who is also and elite swordsman and his back-story and what makes him tick. Overall this is a alright watch, with few decent scenes but when it comes down to it, it's actually quite forgettable. And just didn't have much meat to it. Sometimes simple story can really work, but in this case I just didn't really care.6.2/10

A great Kung Fu flick made by Koreans. Or should I say an Eastern, as the filmmakers used a lot of, what looked like American western tricks, like with the music and the sudden close ups, to give it that Western vibe. At the same time, cinematically it reminds me of a back in the day Kung Fu film like what the Shaw bros. would do. What an excellent martial arts flick this turned out to be, jumbled with everything you except to see from a film by the likes of Tarantino paying homage to the Kung fu genre. I've always been a fan of Korean Cinema and this movie just increased my fandom. This was a great movie I recommend everyone to see.