Finally got to watch the 1st episode. I really like all the different characters. I can't really remember anyone's name, but all the archetypes are there. Should be fun.
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Warrior - A new martial arts drama created by Bruce Lee and the folks from Banshee - Fridays on Cinemax
- Thread starter RatskyWatsky
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Seems kinda disingenuous to put Bruce Lees name there front and center when it's questionable how much of his ideas are actually left in the final product.
Two episodes in and I'm not really feeling the "Bruce Lee" inspiration that is supposedly behind this, it feels like they changed it too much. You know he didn't write all the violence/cursing/nudity, it just feels like they made it dark for the sake of being dark rather then sticking more to what Bruce envisioned. Which is kind of sad since he never got to make that and they had a chance to give homage and respect to his vision and instead it feels like they just kind of took the bare idea and just put a bunch of their own over all of it so barely what he wrote is there.
it feels like there's a more fun and light hearted/adventure show buried under all the darkness that would have been (to me) far more interesting to see, especially compared to modern tv shows.
it feels like there's a more fun and light hearted/adventure show buried under all the darkness that would have been (to me) far more interesting to see, especially compared to modern tv shows.
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Yep, it's great!
His notes served as the inspiration and basis for the show, but he obviously didn't write any of the episodes. He only ever wrote an 8 page series outline.
I mean, from the beginning they've been very clear that that is exactly what the show is:
This entire thing is an homage though and a lot of the themes and subjects they're exploring are ones Lee wanted to explore in his show.
The light hearted/adventure version already got made:
Is this where we are? Lol. Don't know how I didn't find this thread doh!
Can't watch it live but have been catching the reruns on Sundays (when I can). I'm enjoying this so far. It's pretty entertaining so I'm sticking with it.
Can't watch it live but have been catching the reruns on Sundays (when I can). I'm enjoying this so far. It's pretty entertaining so I'm sticking with it.
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There's a fight scene coming up tonight that the stunt coordinators highlighted as one of his favorites from the season. (Links to interview on The Ringer)
Started watching episode 1 and kept thinking Young Jun looked/sounded familiar, then realised
He was in Tokyo Drift lol
He was in Tokyo Drift lol
Started watching episode 1 and kept thinking Young Jun looked/sounded familiar, then realised
He was in Tokyo Drift lol
And Better Luck Tomorrow!
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Ah Sahm lucky he had his sister looking out for him. It seems like he and Penny will continue to grow closer in the future.
He took the beatdown from Father Jun well.
Not sure if Buckley's endgoal is to start a war between the tongs to drive them out of San Fransisco or at least the one he isn't working with.
He took the beatdown from Father Jun well.
Not sure if Buckley's endgoal is to start a war between the tongs to drive them out of San Fransisco or at least the one he isn't working with.
I don't 100% know if Buckley is this good of a long term planner, but 100% elimination of an oppressed group is not as sustainable as keeping them around to keep them at the bottom of the oppression hierarchy. That said, sometimes people throughout history have fanned the flames without really intending for a full on inferno.
Meanwhile, Ah Toy is herself ambitious about the future of Chinese in America, but Mai Ling -- for all her shrewdness at running day to day operations of a gang -- is all too willing to make short term moves without much thought to what kind of repercussions that could draw for her tongs, or for all of Chinatown.
The jail fight scene was pretty good. The Irish guys should have been more injured when Leary came to get them the next day; in the fight it really looked like Ah Sahm broke some joints.
The trial resolution didn't 100% make sense, insofar as Bill was the arresting officer, he was there at the trial, he should have been marked as a witness himself. (And even as good a fighter as Li Yong is, I don't think it would have been viable for a tong to have pulled that witness intimidation move on a cop, esp when it wasn't even a sanctioned move but just Mai Ling freelancing on behalf of her brother, with the help of her boyfriend.)
and Father Jun's horrific discipline would have made more sense if Ah Sahm actually did owe the Hop Wei undying devotion. Sure, they gave him a job, a room, and a nice suit, but they also branded him and made him at least an accomplice to murder in his first week or two in America. As it is now, Father Jun is mostly a shitty boss on a power trip.
Meanwhile, Ah Toy is herself ambitious about the future of Chinese in America, but Mai Ling -- for all her shrewdness at running day to day operations of a gang -- is all too willing to make short term moves without much thought to what kind of repercussions that could draw for her tongs, or for all of Chinatown.
The jail fight scene was pretty good. The Irish guys should have been more injured when Leary came to get them the next day; in the fight it really looked like Ah Sahm broke some joints.
The trial resolution didn't 100% make sense, insofar as Bill was the arresting officer, he was there at the trial, he should have been marked as a witness himself. (And even as good a fighter as Li Yong is, I don't think it would have been viable for a tong to have pulled that witness intimidation move on a cop, esp when it wasn't even a sanctioned move but just Mai Ling freelancing on behalf of her brother, with the help of her boyfriend.)
and Father Jun's horrific discipline would have made more sense if Ah Sahm actually did owe the Hop Wei undying devotion. Sure, they gave him a job, a room, and a nice suit, but they also branded him and made him at least an accomplice to murder in his first week or two in America. As it is now, Father Jun is mostly a shitty boss on a power trip.
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Watched ep3 and I really like this show. It's taking me a while to learn everyone's names though. Ah Sahm I got. Buckley I know. Mei Ling I know. O'Leary is the Irish mob boss. Father Jun. Penny. Mercer is Penny's dad, I think?
Welcome to organized crime.
Warrior has been solid and very enjoyable so far. I'm definitely in for the long haul and hope they announce a renewal soon. That being said, my one complaint is that nothing particularly surprising has happened so far. It's been a little paint-by-numbers in terms of the characters and the plot development. Banshee stood out to me in that it was a somewhat odd show with some characters that defied tropes and story arcs that caught me off guard. Here's hoping Warrior can begin to do that as this season continues.
I'm really loving the shadow plays between Buckley and Mai. All sides are being manipulated by each other and it's entertaining as shit. Then Chao gets to work as the weapons dealer for everybody too.
Ah Sahm continues to fuck up some fools even while impoverished and in a jail cell. Then proceeds to take a beating from his boss while inebriated! Mans got that chi shield on lock. Later he sneaks into Penny's place and courts her? What can't he do? Lol.
Ah Sahm continues to fuck up some fools even while impoverished and in a jail cell. Then proceeds to take a beating from his boss while inebriated! Mans got that chi shield on lock. Later he sneaks into Penny's place and courts her? What can't he do? Lol.
I was hearing positive things, but good to see the news become official. Looking forward to the episode 5 that critics have been hyping up.
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It's a little worrying that they just had a smattering of press quotes in the renewal PR and didn't mention ratings in any form. Have you tracked any of the numbers? I'm glad it's getting a second season, but I haven't seen anything indicating it's a hit along the lines of what Cinemax would want given the budget.
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In terms of linear ratings, Warrior is averaging near the top, but the #1 Cinemax 2.0 series is still CB Strike (somehow).
CB Strike > Warrior > Strike Back > Outcast S2 >>> Rellik = Tales from the Tour Bus
Linear ratings for Cinemax 2.0 are down quite a bit from where they were with Cinemax 1.0 (of course as you know, average linear ratings are dropping lower and lower every year across the board with few exceptions so it's hard to get a real sense of how these shows are performing relative to Cinemax's previous shows without knowing the cumulative on demand figures), but I imagine they're probably kicking themselves for cancelling The Knick (and to a lesser extent Quarry) considering it was pulling in almost double what Warrior is doing at probably around the same budget.
The premiere of Warrior didn't make the Top 25 cable L+7 chart and Cinemax hasn't touted viewership figures, so it's really hard to say just how well the show is doing and/or if it's meeting their expectations. If the order of these shows' live ratings are an indication of how they're performing relative to each other on demand, I don't know if Cinemax will want to continue funding expensive homegrown series when they can do just as well if not better with lower budget co-productions - unless they're willing to incur a loss while they build Cinemax into a worthwhile brand and/or want to keep one or two homegrown series around for "prestige" reasons.
Episode 3 did rate higher than episode 2 though, and came close to the premiere numbers, so hopefully that trend will continue as the season progresses and into season 2.
Thanks for the in-depth response, Ratskey. Much appreciated.
I do wonder what AT&T's long term plans are for Cinemax. It wouldn't surprise me if they folded it into HBO and/or the channel didn't exist in a few years. I'm not sure exactly what it's doing for them.
I do wonder what AT&T's long term plans are for Cinemax. It wouldn't surprise me if they folded it into HBO and/or the channel didn't exist in a few years. I'm not sure exactly what it's doing for them.
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Cinemax has 20+ million subscribers so it's a pretty good money maker for them, but given that HBO is expanding and AT&T is launching a Warner streaming service, I don't know if it makes sense for them to have all that content spread out across so many different platforms (+DC Universe, Crunchyroll, etc) - a consolidation with another platform may in fact be in its future.
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Interview with Rich Ting
He's second from the left in this picture:
Didn't realize he was playing a character named Bolo based on...Bolo:
He's second from the left in this picture:
Didn't realize he was playing a character named Bolo based on...Bolo:
I knew the actress Mai Ling looked familiar, looked her up and I know her from Vikings getting high with Ragnar.
Same with Buckley, as he was on Banshee minus the beard and limp.
That little scene with Lee in bed with the woman makes me think something went down, perhaps she was killed and he got revenge and had to flee.
Ah Sahm moves quickly. I expected the hookup to happen with Penny, but not this soon.
Same with Buckley, as he was on Banshee minus the beard and limp.
That little scene with Lee in bed with the woman makes me think something went down, perhaps she was killed and he got revenge and had to flee.
Ah Sahm moves quickly. I expected the hookup to happen with Penny, but not this soon.
Yeah, I thought they'd drag that out a little longer too--can't blame her though, Ah Sahm is charismatic as fuck.
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I would lean towards the latter. After his convo with Penny, Ah Sahm spoke to his sister about how he shouldn't have let her marry the abusive guy to save him. How he wouldn't make the same mistake again and ripped up the ticket home.
Mai Ling does seem to have it good in her current position, so I'm not sure what his plan going forward will be.
"Good" is relative. She's in a foreign land where Chinese aren't considered people. And even among the Chinese in SF, she's wealthy and powerful, but deep in a very dangerous gangster life. I can see why Ah Sahm wants better for her.
No doubt, just not sure how he plans to convince her to leave her current position. With the upcoming Tong Wars, things could always go sideways leaving her no choice.
Ah Sahm is one confident and charismatic dude.
Bolo vs Ah Sahm is going to be great.
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I'm enjoying the show a good amount. It's not reached the highs of Banshee yet but hasn't hit the lows either.
This latest episode came pretty close to Banshee's highs. We get a bottle episode out of nowhere with some kickass action that almost makes me wish this was set further back in the Old West.
Yeah, that was definitely a kick-ass episode. The best the show has done so far.
Focusing on 2 of the main characters and keeping the action in one location really worked. The final shot with Ah Sahm and Young Jun riding off into the sunset was a pretty cool visual.
Man I'm loving this show. This weeks episode was the best yet keeping the focus tight on just a couple characters. Really leaned into the kung fu western concept as well
I think its done a great job so far of laying claim to being the best action show since early seasons of banshee and strike back
The character interplay (and power structure amongst the women as well) reminds me a lot of black sails too on a TV drama perspective
I think its done a great job so far of laying claim to being the best action show since early seasons of banshee and strike back
The character interplay (and power structure amongst the women as well) reminds me a lot of black sails too on a TV drama perspective
I just rewatched it for a second time, and I can't believe how good last episode was! Really loved the western vibe. And as always, the soundtrack was just incredible.
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