Cowboys, ninjas, and Geoffrey Rush: The synergistic potential of such a combination is obvious, and yet, somehow, no one recognized it until Korean director Sngmoo Lee came along. His first U.S. feature, The Warrior’s Way, takes these and other elements that conventional critics would dismiss as laughably incongruous and melds them into one sprawling, genre-hopping epic set in the frontier days of the American West. Equal parts Eastern and Western in pedigree, it’s just the kind of audacious piece of filmmaking that could change the way modern cinema is experienced and evaluated on both sides of the planet.* At the very least, it should help lend clarity to one of the more enduring “Who would win in a fight?” debates.
With so much going for it, it’s easy to see why an actor like Kate Bosworth would be attracted to such a project. In an exclusive interview, the star of 21 and Superman Returns discussed her rationale for joining the film (as if that were necessary) and how she honed her knife-throwing skills for her role as its spirited heroine:
The Warrior’s Way opens nationwide Friday, December 3, 2010.
*Or not. There were no pre-release screenings of the film for journalists or critics, so this statement is largely speculative.
