Two of my favorite movies from the '80s had to do with kids who became part of their favorite video games: Cloak & Dagger and The Last Starfighter. So with that in mind, I kinda dig this trailer for Enter the Warriors Gate, which looks like a throwback to exactly that kind of movie. That said, I see some potential problems with it that not even Guardians of the Galaxy's Dave Bautista can fix.
Bautista is the headliner in this one, which boasts a script by Taken's Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. I'll say that Besson has never been known for his cultural sensitivity, and he may see some backlash here, too. The film follows a California teen and avid gamer who is magically transported into an ancient Asian land full of kung fu and magic. There he sets out to become The One, the kingdom's sole savior from a merciless barbarian king played by Bautista. So this is literally a "white savior" movie. And you thought people whined about Matt Damon in The Great Wall?
Still, this looks like fun to me, and I doubt enough people will see it for any complaints to have much impact. Directed by Matthias Hoene with Uriah Shelton, Mark Chao, Ni Ni, and Francis Ng starring, Enter the Warriors Gate hits theaters and VOD on May 5th.
