Warriors of Virtue
| Warriors of Virtue | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster |
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| Directed by | Ronny Yu |
| Produced by | Ronald Law Dennis Law Christopher Law Jeremy Law Patricia Ruben |
| Screenplay by | Michael Vickerman Hugh Kelley |
| Starring | Angus Macfadyen Mario Yedidia Marley Shelton Chao-Li Chi Doug Jones |
| Music by | Don Davis |
| Cinematography | Peter Pau |
| Editing by | David Wu |
| Studio | China Film Co-Production Corporation Law Brothers Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (USA) Entertainment Film Distributors (UK) |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States China |
Warriors Of Virtue is a 1997 Chinese-American fantasy film directed by Ronny Yu. It is in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. Although commercially unsuccessful and critically panned, a sequel, Warriors of Virtue: The Return to Tao, was made in 2002.
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Plot [edit]
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This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (April 2011) |
Ryan Jeffers (Mario Yedidia) is a high school student with a disability, implied to be from an injury. As a result, he spends most of his time reading comic books and imagining other worlds where he might have a great adventure. One day, he stops at his favorite Chinese restaurant, Ming's, and visits with the owner (Dennis Dun). He gives Ryan a manuscript of Tao which is a representation of the five elements that make up their mythology, explaining that the book could lead to Ryan's "true enlightenment". Ryan claims he doesn't need any "Self Help" books, but takes the manuscript anyway. Later that day, after an "initiation" by the school's quarterback, Brad (Michael Dubrow), Ryan awakens in what turns out to be the mythical Land of Tao.
In the Land of Tao, Ryan's disability is gone, and he has full use of both legs. He's attacked by soldiers, and in the process of escaping, Ryan loses his backpack with the manuscript in it. He encounters the dwarf-like Mudlap (Michael J. Anderson), who takes him to Elysia (Marley Shelton), a beautiful girl who takes him to Master Chung (Chao-Li Chi) who leads the Warriors of Virtue; five anthropomorphic kangaroos who wield the powers of the elements. They are Lai: Warrior of Wood (Virtue of Loyalty), Chi: Warrior of Fire (Virtue of Wisdom), Tsun: Warrior of Earth (Virtue of Integrity), and Yee: Warrior of Metal (Virtue of Righteousness). Yun: Warrior of Water (Virtue of Benevolence) is no longer with the group. They are interested in finding what they refer to as the "Manuscript of Legend".
The evil warlord Komodo (Angus MacFadyen) and his army are invading and terrorizing the Land of Tao in his quest for eternal youth by feeding on the special mineral called "zubrium". The Warriors manage to save Ryan from Komodo's minion Barbarocious (Ying Qu). In order to retrieve the lost manuscript from Komodo, the Warriors join forces once again to invade Komodo's fortress. In the course of doing so, they encounter another of Komodo's minions, General Grillo (Tom Towles).
The Warriors of Virtue eventually defeat Komodo in battle when they combine their individual powers after Ryan reads from the Manuscript of Legend's inscription "Five is one, Positive Kung. To take a life, you lose a part of yourself." After Komodo's defeat, Ryan returns home, just at the point before he is lured into the dangerous "initiation" by the school quarterback.
Cast [edit]
- Mario Yedidia - Ryan Jeffers
- Angus Macfadyen - Komodo
- Marley Shelton - Elysia
- Doug Jones - Yee: Warrior of Metal (Virtue of Righteousness)
- Chao-Li Chi - Master Chung
- Jack Tate - Yun: Warrior of Water (Virtue of Benevolence)
- Don W. Lewis - Lai: Warrior of Wood (Virtue of Loyalty), Major Keena
- J. Todd Adams - Chi: Warrior of Fire (Virtue of Wisdom)
- Adrienne Corcoran - Tsun: Warrior of Earth (Virtue of Integrity)
- Michael J. Anderson - Mudlap
- Tom Towles - General Grillo
- Lee Arenberg - Mantose
- Dennis Dun - Ming
- Roy Cebellos - Willy Beast
- Jason Hamer - Mosely
- Teryl Rothery - Kathryn Jeffers
- Ricky D'Shon Collins - Chucky
- Michael Dubrow - Brad
- Ying Qu - Barbarocious
- Stuart Kingston - Dullard
- Michael Vickerman - Dragoon Commander
- Adam Mills - Toby
Voice cast [edit]
- Scott McNeil - Yun: Warrior of Water (Virtue of Benevolence)
- Doug Parker - Yee: Warrior of Metal (Virtue of Righteousness), Chi: Warrior of Fire (Virtue of Wisdom)
- Kathleen Barr - Tsun: Warrior of Earth (Virtue of Integrity)
- Dale Wilson - Lai: Warrior of Wood (Virtue of Loyalty)
- Mina E. Mina - Master Chung
- Drew Reichelt - Dullard
- Venus Terzo - Barbarocious
- Colin Murdock - Dragoon Commander
- Jay Brazeau - Willy Beast
- Gary Chalk - Mosely
- Ian James Corlett - Major Keena
- Ward Perry - Villager
- Shane Meier - Toby
- Michael Dobson - Chi: Warrior of Fire (Virtue of Wisdom)(uncredited)
Reception [edit]
Warriors of Virtue received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics. Film critic Kale Klein of the Carlsbad Current-Argus was so physically distressed by the film that he actually vomited during the initial screenings.[1] On an episode of Siskel and Ebert, Gene Siskel voted thumbs down and described Warrior of Virtue as "Generic junk made for the international action market, a cheap hybrid of Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles." Roger Ebert also voted thumbs down, however he praised the set design by Eugenio Zanetti and said in his review "He made a great setting for a stupid story."[2] It currently has a 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[3]
References [edit]
- ^ Pragasam, Andrew. "Warriors of Virtue Review (1997)". The Spinning Image. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
- ^ Siskel and Ebert review on youtube
- ^ Warriors of Virtue on Rotten Tomatoes Accessed on June 21, 2010
External links [edit]
- The Doug Jones Experience - Doug Jones as 'Yee'
- Warriors of Virtue at AllRovi
- Warriors of Virtue at the Internet Movie Database
- Warriors of Virtue at Rotten Tomatoes
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