Product Description

Johnny Nguyen (The Protector) stars as an elite double agent tasked with taking down his own country s freedom fighters. But when he meets a beautiful rebel (pop star Thanh Van Ngo), he rethinks his loyalty to the oppressive French regime and fights back against his sadistic captain (Dustin Nguyen, 21 Jump Street).

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15035 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-09-30
• Rating: Unrated
• Formats: Color, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: French, Vietnamese
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: English, French
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 103 minutes

Amazon.com
A fast-paced, beautifully executed film, The Rebel works hard at being an epic martial arts picture set in 1920's French-occupied Vietnam. While that may sound like a bit much, director Truc Charlie Nguyen does a formidable job creating a plausible scenario with some awesome fighting sequences. While not quite epic, the film is spot on as an action thriller. Johnny Tri Nguyen--who was a stunt double in the Spider-Man movies and impressed fans with his performance in The Protector--stars as Le Van Cuong, a deadly double agent who battles both the French and his evil, power hungry boss Sy, played by Dustin Nguyen (21 Jump Street), who we're accustomed to seeing in sympathetic roles. Sy is one of those cinematic creations who is seemingly indestructible. No matter what is thrown at him, he gets right back up to cause more havoc and Dustin Nguyen is up to the task of playing the sadistic part. Ranked as the biggest Vietnamese film when it was released theatrically in 2006, The Rebel delivers meticulous choreographed fight scenes that show off the martial arts skills of the Nguyens (not related), as well as their female lead Veronica Ngo. Like Oxide and Danny Pang's breakthrough 1999 motion picture Bangkok Dangerous, which helped put Thai films on the cinematic map, The Rebel is helping to put the spotlight on Vietnamese films. This DVD includes the original Vietnamese version (with English subtitles) as well as an English version (the bilingual lead actors dubbed their own voices). --Jae-Ha Kim

Customer Reviews

a surprisingly good movie! definite must watch!
first, i mostly watch only chinese movies (about 99% of the time). so grudgingly i borrowed this movie from my brother to watch when i get bored. it's a good thing i wasn't expecting anything out of it.

about 10 minutes into it, i was riveted. the actions (fight scenes) were very solid and the casts were great! i was just going "wow!" whenever the characters fight. it was that good! everyone fought like they all learned martial arts when they were born which makes those scenes that much more convincing!

pay attention to the lead actress; for such a skinny gal, she sure fought with surprising agility and strength. she really impressed me!

the plot, action and storyline flow nicely together. quality of the film is very evident as the story unfolds - everything looked good. if you are a martial arts fan or just love kung fu or action movies, this will leave you satisfied. the story is fast paced so you won't get a chance to get bored! :D

pick this up (especially the new special release by dragon dynasty) and you'll have a great (action) movie on hand! i know i will!

The one of the best action movie in 00s
I first saw this movie at the film festival in LA after overhearing a lot of good reviews from people who saw this film at the previous film festival.

First, you don't really expect anything from the movie made in Vietnam. I've never paid attention to films made in Vietnam. So when I heard that this film was made in Vietnam and it's action movie. I was expecting to be cheap Hong Kong style cinema.

Well, I was wrong.

Good plot. Good story. And fabulous action sequence throughout the movie, including a lot of explosions!

If you like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.... although the story takes place in 1920... you MUST watch this film.

Not a great martial arts movie, a GREAT MOVIE
This movie is fantastic. The incredible martial arts choreography and physical talent of the stars is only one facet of a truly multi-dimensional work. In fact, it is extremely deep, and is as much a dramatic historical tragedy as it is a rousing action film.

Most martial arts movies use historical settings as either an excuse to let the kicks fly, or perhaps as a rallying point for historical and national pride. This movie goes far beyond those flimsy constructs. It deeply probes the colonial nightmare of Vietnam: the humiliation of occupation, the way it tears at every level of the social fabric, from city life, to villages, to institutions, to families, and male-female relationships. The way it corrupts the colonizers and the colonized. And the movie shows the true cost of rebellion: that one must be prepared to sacrifice life as one has known it...and the cost of rebellion will be paid by many more people than the individual who chooses to rebel.

The national pain of Vietnam is given no easy catharsis through rebellious violence, either. Indeed, the message of the movie seems to be that for all the physical power of the characters, nothing could change the inevitable grinding of the logic of colonization and conflict that gripped the country. The acts of rebellion the movie depicts certainly lead to more bloodshed, tragedy, and pain than any kind of triumph. The personal redemption of the hero is won through the blood and suffering of those around him.

For those looking for some great fight scenes (as I was when I put it in my player), it certainly doesn't disapoint. The gritty fights remind me of the choreography of Sammo Hung - but with the added flair of the traditional Vietnamese forms, and the high-flying style of the star, Johnny Nguyen.

The movie also features wonderful period sets, and the lush and beautiful scenery of Vietnam, both of which are characters in and of themselves.

In conclusion, this is an exciting and important film that should appeal to many different audiences, and which provides real insight into both the national identity and historical consciousness of Vietnam, and into the nature and social ramifications of colonization itself.