‘Gate’ should have remained closed
THE WARRIOR’S GATE Run Time: 108 Minutes Starring: Uriah Shelton, Mark Chao, Ni Ni, Dave Bautista, Francis Ng, Sienna Guillory, Kara Wai Director: Matthias Hoene
THE latest from Luc Besson’s B-action-adventure factory owes a debt of gratitude to Zhang Yimou’s The Great Wall for casting a long, obfuscating shadow for it to hide beneath.
Unlike that film, which for better or worse had a plot that hinged on a foreign traveller in China, director Matthias Hoene’s The Warrior’s Gate truly does pivot on a “scrawny” white gamer saving a princess and ensuring peace for the Chinese realm.
Retrograde in that tone-deaf Bessonian way but somehow innocuous at the same time, The Warrior’s Gate isn’t fooling anyone if its approximate $3 million haul in China is any indication. Dave Bautista’s moderate star power may help. Beyond that, The Warrior’s Gate will fade into oblivion as yet another failed experiment.
In a contemporary, anonymous town, Jack Bronson (Uriah Shelton) is juggling his online gaming obsession, school bullies (naturally) and his mother Annie’s (Sienna Guillory) money anxiety.
On the verge of losing their house, Jack takes home an antique box from the shop where Mr Chang has given him a part-time job, which, lo and behold, is a portal to a mysterious land.
Believing Jack to be the Black Knight – his online gaming avatar – imperial warrior Zhao (Mark Chao) comes through with Princess Sulin (Ni Ni). Before you can say “culture-clash romance”, Jack jumps into the portal and is transported to an anonymous place and time in ancient China.
From there the story wades into familiar territory, wherein the cowardly Jack, with his low self-esteem, is made brave and confident with martial help and wise words from Zhao and a chaste romance with Sulin.
Technically, The Warrior’s Gate is up to snuff as a mid-budget action-fantasy, but Hoene keeps things competent not creative. – Hollywood Reporter