Until the turn of the century, the martial arts subgenre was mostly dominated by Hong Kong & Japanese cinema. The 21st century saw the advent of Thailand film industry as it made its mark on the global stage with instant classics like Ong-bak & Tom-Yum-Goong.The next one to follow suit was the Vietnamese film industry that brought its own martial arts to mainstream cinema with this very feature though it never attained the success of its Thai counterparts. Nevertheless, The Rebel is a welcome entry in the world of martial arts filmmaking.Set in French-occupied Vietnam, the story follows a Vietnamese agent who works for the French but is struggling with his allegiance. After learning of a sinister plot to capture the leader of the rebellion, he helps his daughter in escaping from her captivity, and eventually finds a cause that's worth fighting for.Co-written & directed by Charlie Nguyen, the 1920s Vietnam setting is recreated in fine detail and the dark, desaturated colour palette aptly captures the mood of that era but the drama isn't entirely compelling, for there are missing ingredients in the script, not to mention that the romantic subplot is overplayed as well.The action choreography exhibits a charged intensity and is often captivating but given the environment its story takes place in, it also feels a bit out of place. Still, it's hard to take the eyes off screen when the characters are engaged in a combat. The leading actors play their dramatic part well, the villain has an aura of mystery about him and he's almost a show-stealer.On an overall scale, The Rebel combines the elements of period drama, action & romance into one patriotic thriller but it fails to connect with the global audience on the emotional scale. The action segments provide a burst of energy every now n then but the story fails to keep up with that and required better pace & editing. The Rebel isn't memorable but it offers a glimpse of untapped talent Vietnamese cinema has in store.

I am so impressed with this movie! The casts were awesome with top notch and real action. All the kungfu was much much better than expected and felt so real! The story was evolving with nice twists. Who would have thought that it is such a great movie from rather low budget film. So much admiration for the crew and love Johnny Tri Nguyen and Ngo Thanh Van. Excellent film that I haven't seen for a long time! Ngo Thanh Van acted brilliantly, not just with her jaw dropping kicks but also her talking eyes. I felt the heat, the hatred, the desire....in her eyes. Dustin Nguyen also had an excellent performance. I think this is a great success and an A+++ action drama film from Vietnam

to be honest, when i saw this film, i was so eager and surprising because i didn't believe that they could do a great job like this. After seeing the movie, i decided to come back to see it again, again, again and again (total...13 times) but i felt that i was still exciting, and came to see it till the day the movie theater change other movies hehehe. i love this film so much because i am a action genre fan. I love the script, i was moved and surprised when i heard the script, so awesome, intelligent, authentic, this movie has done the job that other movies before could do, good script. maybe no need to say about the action, marvelous. the action scenes were so realistic, heavy and tough. i admired Ngo Thanh Vân very much, she did great job though she had little martial arts background. nice actor. overall, this is the best film i have ever seen. 2 thumbs up!

The most expensive Vietnamese film ever (it cost USD3 million to make - probably the lunch budget of Stallone's Rambo) is a rousing action/romance expertly directed by the Vietnamese/American filmmaker Charlie Nguyen. The old-fashioned story is about the 1922 rebellion against French colonialists and follows a familiar but pleasing path. However, if you are a martial arts fan, the film will be of particular interest for its excellent action scenes featuring little known Vietnamese martial art, Vo Thuat. Originally based on Northern Chinese Wushu (Chinese were the first superpower to invade this luckless land), Vietnamese martial arts system has developed incorporating the elements from the fighting styles of neigbouring countries. For many centuries it was the main form of defense for these people because their invaders (Chinese, French, Japanese) stripped them of all weapons. Both leads Johnnie Nguyen and the gorgeous actor/singer/model Vo Thanh Thuy are accomplished practitioners of the style and their prowess is obvious in the film. Dustin Nguyen (no relation, every second person is called Nguyen in Vietnam) makes a worthy villain with his own expertise in various Asian styles.A must for martial arts fans. It will also be enjoyed by those who like a rousing action/romance.