WARRIOR

                                    Warrior: Cinemax Delivers yet again!!

Set during the Tong Wars in late 1870s San Francisco, California, the series follows Ah Sahm, a martial arts prodigy who immigrates to San Francisco from China, in search of his sister, only to be sold to one of the most powerful tong in Chinatown.

The story and the premise of Warrior are pretty basic, but that is what we liked about the show. Taking a simple story and telling it in the simplest of manners without paying much heed to over burdening with heavy scripting and over complicating the plot. It's a simple tale of a foreigner who quickly settles down into a new way of life, rises to the top, gets a reality check and then makes a decision on his life.
Now this may seem pretty straight and narrow, most especially when you consider that the show is mainly limited geographically to San Francisco and Chinatown in particular, but surprisingly, the production team and to a lesser extent were able to structure the content in such a way that it's able to deliver both intense fight scenes as originally intended, and very good chaotic drama.

  The show could have come off basically as centered around the Tong Wars and it may still have delivered some incredible fights, but with the inclusion of the Whites (Ducks), and their territory(Pond), plus the drama that comes with the racial bias, the conflict(s) became a little more dicey and whole lot less direct. Factor the forgoing with the fact that the Hop Wei and the Long Zii have to contend with the Fung Hai who are basically not power players, makes the show all the more intriguing to follow. Then the politics that goes on around San Francisco and just outside of Chinatown is also worth keeping an eye on. Mr Leary's everyday antics are exceptionally foreboding and his Irish gang are ever present, hovering around and always ready to take a swipe at opportunities.
Chao(Hoon Lee) the black market arms Dealer who is always in the know and who brokers several deals in the underworld is another interesting character. And as usual, Hoon Lee delivered an incredible performance that reminds one of his commendable performance on another of Cinemax's hit shows, Banshee.
So basically, while the Chinese and the Mongols (Onions) are busy being engaged in turf wars between two major power players( Hop Wei and Long Zii) and a smaller sinister force (Fung Hai), the police are doing everything possible to curtail Chinatown crime by the setting up of a Chinatown Squad, led by the shady figure of Bill O'Hara( Kiran Bew) and Officer Lee (Tom Weston-Jones), all under the political machinations of Mayor Blake and Walter Buckley, not to leave out the sinister power play under the nose of Long Zii by Mai Ling( Dianne Doan) and the top hatchet man of the Long Zii, Li Yong(Joe Taslim).
Pour all of these into a steaming cauldron and you have 10 steaming, fast paced, action packed first season of Warrior. Plenty drama, incredible fight scenes and a brilliantly simple script to keep viewers interested.

One of the most interesting things about the show is how the actors adapted to the script like duck to water( meant!). Andrew Koji depicted Ah Sam as best as anyone could have, he was every way as foreign and every bit the warrior and fighter as could be really hoped for. Dianne Doan, Hoon Lee, Bew, Weston-Jones, Olivia Cheng ( Ah Toy) were all exceptional and complemented a simply scripted show with an amazing, nearly routine performance. You really could not have asked for better acting from any select group of actors.
  Again, we must commend the stunt director and the fight instructors for an amazing presentation. There was no need to heavily script or choreograph the fights, neither was there any need to inundate the fights with unnecessary movements or moves. Every punch and kick was as natural and real as can be. The fights are grainy, gruesome and brutal. These are complemented by the natural talents of Ah Sam(Koji), Li Yong(Taslim), Leary(Dean Jagger) and Young Jun( Jason Tobin).
If we were to summarise this show in a sentence, we'd choose a complex one like; "it's the most complete martial arts tv show out there, with the perfect blend of drama, action and a compelling conflict."

It's the type of series that you don't want to end, most especially after making a slight of hand to point out the fact that regardless of the fact that Ah Sam is a prodigy, there are more proficient fighters and yet more incredibly talented Brawlers prowling the streets of San Francisco and Chinatown. We just cannot wait for the second season, more so as new conflicts have been set, old wars have evolved and even yet more sinister forces are making a power play for Chinatown and all of its resources. In fact, we still Wonder to what extent Senator is willing to go to ensure the Exclusion Act gets passed, or what Zing's next move to take the Fung Hai to the next level is.
If you have not started this show, believe me, you are missing out on one of the hottest tv shows out there right now. You would better serve your palate by picking this one up and binge watching it. The lead up to the penultimate episode ( Chinese Boxing) is everything good on tv, and it definitely presents the events of the fight in more shocking perspective.

Starring:
Andrew Koji
Olivia Cheng
Jason Tobin
Dianne Doan
Kieran Bew
Dean Jagger
Joanna Vanderham
Tom Weston-Jones
Hoon Lee
Langley Kirkwood
Christian McKay
Perry Yung
Joe Taslim
Executive producer(s): Jonathan Tropper, Justin Lin, Danielle Woodrow, Shannon Lee
Production company(s): Tropper Ink Productions, Perfect Storm Entertainment, Bruce Lee Entertainment

FCA's AppR: 8.5/10