Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The acting in this movie is really good.

14th century China, a Korean diplomatic party getting rejected by the Emperor, Mongols, a captured princess, flight to the sea, battle scene, battle scene, battle scene... Quite honestly I've seen this movie a few times already wearing slightly different clothes. And normally this isn't something I complain all that much about. I mean, it's like complaining that all westerns are exactly alike. I mean, yes, they are, but that's the genre. You kind of accept it. But in this case it bothered me, for some reason. Perhaps it's the fact that none of the characters connected at all. The general is boring, the princess is boring, the peasants are boring. The freed slave is pretty cool as a warrior, but completely bland as a person or even as a human being.Another thing is that the film isn't all that interesting visually, which is usually the biggest saving grace of these historical martial arts films. But in this we get... hmm, let's see... desert, desert... a camp in the desert, finally some forest, and then rocky coast, which is close enough to a desert to count. The fight scenes are okay, but nothing spectacular. The music is forgettable. What else, what else... The love triangle is boring. The fact that the freed slave barely talks doesn't do him any favours as a character. Nor does the fact that the princess complains about being forced to travel, even though she's fleeing for her life. Because that's what nobility does, amirite.All in all I think that Musa is an okay film if you haven't seen too many films like it previously. But in my case I found it to be boring to the extreme.

I do like a good historical epic and it's a truth that nobody makes them quite like they do in Asia. Over the past decade, the genre has flourished since the success of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, and while I don't like that particular film very much, I've absolutely adored some of the others that have followed. These titles include HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS and CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER. As a viewer, I'm always drawn slightly away from the wuxia genre (I'm no big fan of the wire work you see in these movies) in favour of the grittier, more realistic genre films like THE WARLORDS. MUSA is such a film, a Korean epic that focuses on realism and crucial believability throughout.In essence it's a familiar story about a group of highly skilled and diverse warriors attempting to protect a princess while battling an evil general and his small army on their tale. Some say it's like Kurosawa, with the superficial similarities to SEVEN SAMURAI on show. I disagree. MUSA is a firmly modern, action-focused epic which is all about the battles and the swordplay, and anyone who thinks otherwise is mistaken. The good news is that these scenes are tremendous, veering on the right side in terms of the editing, which is fast but allows you to actually see what's going on. The battle choreography is stupendous and there's all manner of fighting involved. There's a particular emphasis on cool weaponry (high-powered bows, a massive spear) and also on the wounds inflicted by these cruel weapons. This ain't PG-fare; it's one of the bloodiest historical epics out there and I'm still trying to figure out how they achieved the brilliant arrow-in-the-neck special effects.It's a rare film that succeeds through action alone, but there's far more to MUSA than just that. The simple journey storyline allows for plenty of character arcs and development, and it's refreshing to see a film where characters aren't as clear cut as you might expect. People make mistakes and people die because of those mistakes, but these flawed characters are all the more gripping because of that. My favourite is a case in point: Joo Jin-mo's general, who's a truly noble good guy despite the errors of judgement he sometimes makes. The rest of the cast don't disappoint either, and Zhang Ziyi is particularly good in a role that allows her to take a break from the martial arts for once.There are three main backdrops to the unfolding story, and each of them seems fresh and unique. The first is a shifting desert landscape, the second an extensive woodland, and the third a ruined castle on the coast. There's a particular emphasis on the visual scenes and the costumes look stunning. Despite a long running time, this is engaging throughout, building up to a classic climax in which many of the good guys die bloodily and heroically. As a film, MUSA blows SEVEN SWORDS clean out of the water.

This movie is all about the sword, spear and arrow action during 1375. When it comes to the story it's nothing special or deep but just decent. When a enjoy lead by Choi-Jung(Joo Jin-mo) who is a arrogant and straightforward general and also weak against pretty girls gets falsely accused for being spies. They are exiled to the desert by the Ming army. But they get attacked by mongols and they kill off the Ming army that the envoy is being transported by. But the Mongols spare the envoy which consists of Koreans. Soon they end up rescuing the princess of Ming. Who starts off as a bratty and spoiled person. From the clutches of the Mongols and decides to return her back to the Ming dynasty in order to get the misunderstanding straightened out. But also a silent warrior aid them as well that is proficient in wielding a spear. And love triangle issues as they try to run and protect the princess while defending her from the mongol clutches. So yeah nothing special and has been done before for the most part. But it's the cool character and the fight scenes that make up this movie. In fact Joo Jin-mo and Jung Woo-sung were in their prime in this movie. At the time when this movie came out it was pretty good but now it just seems a bit outdated. With poor editing and choppy fight cinematography. And the fight sequences aren't all that memorable. But thinking in the way of when this movie came out, I am going to give it a straight 7.7/10

The best epic drama so far, at least to my mind. Not "girlish" and not "clownish", to start with.There are at least two different types of historical/pseudo-historical dramas in Asian cinema. Type one: beautiful, with lots of CGI and/or wire-work, very romantic and sentimental with a bit of sexuality ("Crouching Tiger", "Hero", "Seven Swords", etc.). Type two: gritty, violent, dark, very reserved (concerning CGI and wires) with minimum or even none "female" sentimentality and "sexual innuendoes" (err... please, help me with the titles). This film is definitely of the second type.Well, forget it. I am just trying to pass for a "generalizing" scholar of the lowest degree. To put it in plain words, the first time I saw a few scenes out of the whole movie, I got amazed. This movie contains realistic and physically exhausting stunts. It has taciturn and tough characters submerged into a wild deadly race. And it does not try to squeeze tears out of soft viewers' hearts by any means. It all gripped me instantly. When I bought the DVD, I was still not very sure, thinking that maybe only some parts of this epic were good. Now, after watching the whole movie "from top to toe", I can write a comment and sign my opinion.If "Seven Swords" disillusioned me greatly, this one got right into my personal favourites. The strangest thing is that I don't know any of the actors/actresses (there is no Mr Jackie Chan or Mr Sammo Hung, no Mr Donnie Yen or Mr Jet Lee) but what they are doing without "over-the-top choreography" is real magic that can get into the heart. Now I am even thinking about re-rating of the other epic films, which were given the highest marks on my IMDb list.The transient nature of the movie has the power to enchant the viewer. A lasting stare full of hatred, a loving gaze, a powerful and very wisely used slow-motion, a long take representing a man running fast towards the overturned four-wheeler, a swift almost unnoticeable move of the fighter which results in a grisly death of the opponent, extensive use of gestures and face expressions instead of usual "blah-blah-blah", absence of superhuman powers and other nonsense so widely used in martial arts epics, a very engaging music theme, cruel battles, the reason for which may appear absolutely unimportant to the modern audience, charismatic characters on both sides, etc. All this makes up a unique film. I can't explain, why this massacre happens but I can feel why. This film is a kind of magic. Magic from the mighty East.I would definitely say "Thank you, I am 100% satisfied with Your film" to every woman and man, who are behind this production. Good job. Let the other glossy epics rest in their cosy places on IMDb top 250, to hell with them, - this one is on my personal top 100 list.In simple words my opinion is the following: "Seven Swords" sucks while "Musa" rocks. "Musa" is a poetical hymn to the creating power of self-denial and to the deepest human feelings. It is realistic and heavenly at the same time.There should be something wrong with the film. It can't be perfect, can it? Well, maybe the last song (when the credits are rolling already) does not sound very right. But it is a minor complaint that does not spoil the film to me.If only Korea were producing only this kind of cinema... Unfortunately, there exists disgusting "Oldboy", which is also on the top IMDb list. Shameful. And I totally agree with another reviewer that "Braveheart" is nowhere near this mastery.My favourite epic drama. 10 out of 10. Thank you for attention.