War films can be very serious at times. Understandable, given the utterly grim subject matter at play. After all, war isn't fun. But it can be chaotic, and pleasure and entertainment can be derived from it. Why not make suffering frantic, in a rock-and-roll kind of way? That's exactly the vibe that this movie has going for it.

Martial arts cinema is one of the few genres where greatness hits before explanation does. It’s like Netflix’s One Piece Season 2 — you see Zoro going bonkers by killing a 100 men right as the season kicks off. That’s a chunk of martial arts in a fantasy show. It’s the same in movies. You feel it in the body first. In the stance, the pause, the read of distance, the second a fight stops being action and becomes expression. A kick can be rage. A block can be grief. A stance can be philosophy.