Once Upon a Warrior (2011) is the story of what
happens when nine year old Elora Danan and the blind swordsman Zatoichi
team up to save the world and rescue Madame Xanadu from Malificent (as
played by Lady Gaga) and her army of brainwashed orc cosplayers. It’s
not exactly masala (the movie actually sticks to one genre throughout)
but it is certainly Influence Soup.
The kingdom of Sangarashtra is being terrorized by the evil ghostly sorceress Irendri (Lakshmi Manchu, assisted by as much scenery as she can chew), who carries a powerful “Black Eye” which can transform ordinary men into her brainwashed warrior slaves. Desperate for relief, the people turn to the Teardrop Cult, a network of religious hucksters who promise spiritual protection from the power of the Black Eye and are worse than useless when it comes to actually protecting anything.
When the children of the village of Agharta fall sick, hapless everyman Druki (Vallabheneni Ramji) is sent to an isolated mountain monastery to retrieve Moksha (Harshitha), a little girl with amazing healing powers. Moksha will need protecting, and Druki, while brave, isn’t really up to the task, so the blind warrior Yodha (Siddharth) is sent along as her bodyguard.
Almost immediately after the trio set out on their journey, Moksha asks Yodha about his past, which leads to a long flashback about Yodha’s love for the Gypsy fortuneteller Priya (Shruti K. Haasan), and the tragic but clearly foreshadowed end to their romance. Nearly everything in this flashback will later turn out to be incredibly important.
And from there . . . well, it’s an epic quest. Moksha and her friends travel toward Agharta. Irendri’s men try to capture them, for nefarious magical reasons. There’s a visit to Irendri’s creepy fortress, Yodha fights a bunch of guys, we find out what happened to Priya, and it all leads to a dramatic confrontation on the night of the lunar eclipse.
Once Upon A Warrior has a number of clear clear influences, and doesn’t make much effort to hide any of them. Despite this, the film has a very consistent tone throughout; it feels like a modern day cinematic fairy tale. Despite the epic quest trappings and the nation in peril, the stakes are mostly personal, and the star-crossed lovers really are at the center of everything. It’s the kind of story you’d expect from one of Disney’s better animated features, in fact; perhaps that’s not too surprising, since this is billed as Disney’s first live-action Indian film.
Once Upon A Warrior even looks like an animated movie brought to life, with rich colors and gorgeous, improbable landscapes. The special effects are literally fantastic; they’re not always convincing, but they are always magical and imaginative.
Once Upon A Warrior does have some flaws. It takes a while to get really started, and the plot is overshadowed by the atmosphere; as fantasy epics go, there isn’t much plot at all, really. Our heroic band consists of Yodha, Moksha, and Druki, and Druki mostly stands around looking surprised.
I don’t know that anything about this movie is really groundbreaking; the film pulls from a number of sources to create a story that feels comfortably familiar. On the other hand, it looks fantastic, and features a delightfully over-the-top villain, so I don’t really mind.
The kingdom of Sangarashtra is being terrorized by the evil ghostly sorceress Irendri (Lakshmi Manchu, assisted by as much scenery as she can chew), who carries a powerful “Black Eye” which can transform ordinary men into her brainwashed warrior slaves. Desperate for relief, the people turn to the Teardrop Cult, a network of religious hucksters who promise spiritual protection from the power of the Black Eye and are worse than useless when it comes to actually protecting anything.
When the children of the village of Agharta fall sick, hapless everyman Druki (Vallabheneni Ramji) is sent to an isolated mountain monastery to retrieve Moksha (Harshitha), a little girl with amazing healing powers. Moksha will need protecting, and Druki, while brave, isn’t really up to the task, so the blind warrior Yodha (Siddharth) is sent along as her bodyguard.
Almost immediately after the trio set out on their journey, Moksha asks Yodha about his past, which leads to a long flashback about Yodha’s love for the Gypsy fortuneteller Priya (Shruti K. Haasan), and the tragic but clearly foreshadowed end to their romance. Nearly everything in this flashback will later turn out to be incredibly important.
And from there . . . well, it’s an epic quest. Moksha and her friends travel toward Agharta. Irendri’s men try to capture them, for nefarious magical reasons. There’s a visit to Irendri’s creepy fortress, Yodha fights a bunch of guys, we find out what happened to Priya, and it all leads to a dramatic confrontation on the night of the lunar eclipse.
Once Upon A Warrior has a number of clear clear influences, and doesn’t make much effort to hide any of them. Despite this, the film has a very consistent tone throughout; it feels like a modern day cinematic fairy tale. Despite the epic quest trappings and the nation in peril, the stakes are mostly personal, and the star-crossed lovers really are at the center of everything. It’s the kind of story you’d expect from one of Disney’s better animated features, in fact; perhaps that’s not too surprising, since this is billed as Disney’s first live-action Indian film.
Once Upon A Warrior even looks like an animated movie brought to life, with rich colors and gorgeous, improbable landscapes. The special effects are literally fantastic; they’re not always convincing, but they are always magical and imaginative.
Once Upon A Warrior does have some flaws. It takes a while to get really started, and the plot is overshadowed by the atmosphere; as fantasy epics go, there isn’t much plot at all, really. Our heroic band consists of Yodha, Moksha, and Druki, and Druki mostly stands around looking surprised.
I don’t know that anything about this movie is really groundbreaking; the film pulls from a number of sources to create a story that feels comfortably familiar. On the other hand, it looks fantastic, and features a delightfully over-the-top villain, so I don’t really mind.
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