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Review

Unusually ambitious for a Hollywood-style action flick, unusually violent for a historical epic, The Rebel is hard to classify (and market) but is a real treat for fans of high-kicking, bullet-spraying Asian cinema.

For starters, the "rebel" of this 1922-set story is a woman: Thuy (Ngo Thanh Van) is a gorgeous, impeccably-trained revolutionary who is dead-set against the French occupation of her country. There are plenty of Vietnamese who are working with the government, including Cuong (Johnny Ngueyn), but when an assassination goes bad and Thuy is captured, Cuong decides to help her out. They go on the run together and fall in love as the story becomes more conventional, following a blueprint somewhere between John Woo and '80s Bruckheimer. The cartoonishly invincible bad guy who chases them, Sy (Dustin Nguyen of "21 Jump Street") adds to the fun even as he detracts from any believability.

Movies today are definitely choosing sides regarding CGI, and to these eyes, this film has gone for pure, old-school choreography and squibs. Though hard to describe, the martial arts sequences are inventive and energetic, and largely refrain from the overcutting which has plagued many American productions. Director Charlie Nguyen doesn't shy away from the gore either, from the bloody gunplay to the ultimate showdown, which is literally an eyeful. As if that weren't enough eye candy, Ngo Thanh Van is one of the most beautiful heroines you'll ever see, making it little wonder that this movie broke box office records in Vietnam.

 -- David Gorgos