THE REBEL is an attempt at a historical epic from Vietnam with a story of rebels battling against French colonial troops in the 1920s. It's notable for starring Johnny Nguyen, then at the height of his stardom after appearing in the internationally renowned WARRIOR KING. He plays a crack Vietnamese fighter tasked with tracking down rebels, but the story gets complicated when he falls for one of them. Overall this film has a mix of good and bad elements. I hate the grey/blue colour scheme that makes a lot of this look very drab indeed, and the acting is limited at best. But the action scenes are indebted to Thai cinema and full of hard-hitting knee, foot and elbow blows. The scenery gets smashed up and they're very satisfying to watch. A pity the rest of the film doesn't match...
Review of The Rebel
