For those who don't know the story of Once Were Warriors (and should watch it before this one), it's the story of a strong, culturally proud woman trying her best to keep her family together through the horrors of death and her husband's fierce alcoholism. It's also one of the most outstanding movies I've ever seen in my 28 years.
To review the sequel, the BASIC plot needs to be explained, so potential spoilers may come out- but no twists, developments, or ending will be revealed. The plot centers on the death of a character I'll call "X".
To begin with, I differ from the review that anyone who liked Warriors "will hate this film". Not so. I adored Warriors and still felt excitement and sadness watching this one. The story centers on Jake, tyrant husband of the first film. He's down and out, living alone in his old house while his ex-wife Beth has moved on. There is another death in the family, the funeral comes quickly, and emotions are high as Jake respectfully attends but keeps his distance.
Jake's violence has gotten him banished from his bar and caused a confrontation with his ex-wife's son, Sonny. He's in a new relationship but still can't stop drinking. He's hitting bottom, and seeing calls for change everywhere.
Meanwhile Sonny and X's companion seek revenge on the gang member responsible for X's death. In doing so they enlist in a gang themselves, and it becomes apparent that Sonny is falling into the same pattern of violence that Jake knows all too well.
Jake wants to change and may be able to help Sonny before he goes too far. But a lot must be done first, and Jake's involvement has already complicated things more than he or Sonny knows.
This is the main setup for Broken. There's 4 central characters- Jake, Sonny, X's companion and the gang leader. The relationships are volatile and interwoven, and all the actors do a great job, especially Temuera Morrison as Jake, who transitions into this movie as if he just walked off of the first film. Supporting characters are good too, most importantly Rena Owen as Beth Heke, Jake's wife. I was sad to see that she didn't have much screen time here, which is fair because the main point this time is Jake's relationship with Sonny and his quest for revenge. But I couldn't help feeling recognition and comfort when I saw Jake and Beth have their few scenes together. They were such equally powerful figures in the first film, but here, it's appropriate that they don't interact much- it reminds us why they're separate in the first place, and we can feel the chemistry still working as they say some important things to each other. These scenes alone are worth seeing for fans of the original.
I won't disclose more. Some questions are raised, but other things are subtly laid to rest, as we leave the movie with fuller understanding of the characters and their motives.
My only real complaint could be major depending on taste. I won't say what happens at the end, but I will say that it was more abrupt than I thought. Not in a way that hinders the story or leaves you wondering, but in a literal way- the credits pop up when I thought there'd be at least another minute of wrap-up. It doesn't ruin the film by any means, it just came kind of suddenly, and left me hoping for a bit more of an epilogue, an extra minute to let everything sink in. I was left thinking that I had just seen some good, strong stuff, but was awaiting what I thought would be the "final" scene and got the credits instead.
There's a bit more of an actiony feel towards the finale as well, which was done well enough and didn't betray the plot or motivations but didn't feel as satisfying or powerful as the final scenes of the original. Perhaps it was the choice of music more than anything. But again, the only thing that bothered me enough to lower the movie's final score was the lack of what I thought would be one final tie-up scene. The ending is definitely a resolution that answers questions; for me it just came down to waiting for that last scene of important dialog, and being surprised at the credits instead. I WAS still satisfied, the last lines felt appropriate and conveyed what I was hoping to hear, just in fewer words.
Besides, to balance these quibbles, the main bulk of the film is good, and at the very least, flat-out interesting. It's interesting to see the world begin to shun Jake this time, finally making him fess up to the thought of change. And several scenes are powerful with words, not action- such as when Jake encounters Sonny in his house later in the film or when he sheepishly asks for Sonny's address on Beth's doorstep. It didn't feel like I was watching a movie for much of this, especially those two scenes- Instead, it felt like I was seeing two people I'd known a long time, reacting to situations I always wondered they might get into.
In closing, I feel the movie isn't as good as Warriors, mainly because it was just a very hard act to follow. But I was still satisfied with WBOTBH, both as a follow up to Warriors and as a film by itself. It's very powerful and serious, but with more of an emphasis on vengeance and redemption than pride and hope. Still, Jake is the weight of this film- his motives and actions are under our microscope, and it's fascinating to watch and see how it all turns out. Good movies both, and I strongly recommend you see them. If you have already seen Warriors, don't hesitate to give this one a try.
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