Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

just watch it!

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Warrior. Mana. Honour. Rubbish. A less-than-subtle attempt to make murder and mayhem appear justifiable by cloaking it in tribal Honor and duty. In fact its rubbish, full of ignorant and brutal violence, and macho-male BS....not to mention a whole lot of clunky writing, poor plot, poor character development and utterly banal story line. It unfortunately perpetuates the myth of indigenous peoples being uncivilized heathen (which couldn't be farther from the truth) and does no service to the Maori peoples. If your thing is Bruce Lee movies set in the wilderness, with the main protagonists clothed only in feathers and ferns this movie may be for you.

Due to my current time restraints I'm going to skip the usual intellectually enthusiastic movie exaltation and just cut right to some idiotically strait-forward praise.This movie was quite an amazing surprise. I didn't expect it to be so good, to the point where I haven't seen an action movie like it in at least a year. And when I use the word "good," it's to symbolize an all-encompassing quality. The depths of the human spirit were represented in the film, clearly and intensely, not considering it's depletion of maybe romance and humor, at it's worst. I found the drama unmatched, and the action and cinematography are extremely inventive. Not to mention: it's the only good Mauri period piece I've ever seen, so I think I might've been waiting a long time for something like this.A true work of art.

Sometimes "last of ..." is not that accurate, especially if you have two who can be called that. For different reasons of course. And while the main story is pretty straight forward (and you can see where it's going) there are some gems here and there. The action scenes are pretty well executed. My Maori is not up to the task, but the acting seems more than decent too.Talking about tasks, the question is is our main hero up to it? Being put in a situation, no one wants to be in, but sometimes you are forced to be in, is more than difficult. On the other hand, you have his mentor, who has some issues of his own. The dynamic works well, though you have to be open minded with what it means to be them or live in that sort of environment - if you can't get down with that, it can be dreadful to watch

Finally we have the Maori action movie we have all been begging for! If you have ever seen the Haka performed by the All Blacks, and wondered what these guys would do to their enemies without the limitations of Rugby rules, then all your questions will be answered. The plot is a Kung Fu style revenge tale. A young chief's son vows revenge for some tribal treachery, and hooks up with a mystical, wiser warrior, to take out a small army of baddies. Action movie aficionados will be pleased to see some authentic Maori weapons and fighting choreography, instead of the typical blade weapons and the Asian martial arts we see in countless movies these days. The acting is fascinating because you are basically watching actors represent their own culture from an earlier era, unlike let's say, having a Scottish man portray an ancient Greek warrior in a film. The authentic locations add to the overall realistic effect as well. I'm sure there are artistic liberties taken with the historical accuracy, but nothing as crazy as the 300 franchise. The directing is a bit frantic, with quick cuts and lots of camera movements during fight scenes, but that seems to be the visual style for action movies these days. Overall, this film is a fascinating look at a culture that is completely exotic to the rest of the world because of vast geographical distance and centuries of colonial influence.