| The Rebel | 
| Director: Charlie Nguyen
Actors: Johnny Nguyen, Dustin Nguyen, Thanh Van Ngo
Studio: The Weinstein Company
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $12.75
You Save: $12.20 (49%)
Buy New/Used from $12.50
Avg. Customer Rating:   (7 reviews)
Sales Rank: 13004
Format: Color, Dubbed, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: French (Original Language), Vietnamese (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed)
Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD
Running Time: 103 minutes
Number Of Items: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.5 x 0.6
MPN: WEID81282D
UPC: 796019812825
EAN: 0796019812825
ASIN: B0018PH3NS
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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).
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 The Rebel delivers! October 30, 2008
These days I'm more of a skeptic with modern day martial arts releases, as many of them are heavy on guns, light on actual martial arts. The Rebel was a great surprise with a steady stream of fast-paced hand to hand fights, with points for originality in the coreography. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that personally I'm not a fan of a lot of editing during a fight scene. I like to watch the fight straight on, too many cuts take me out of the fight, especially since I'm one who likes to watch the techniques closely. It wasn't a huge problem in The Rebel, but a few times was too much for me. Still, there was enough true martial arts all through the film to make it very much worth it! Decent acting, and an actually good story sealed the deal. I'd recommend it to any martial arts fan!
 amazing October 28, 2008
I havent seen that many movies made in Vietnam , BUT The Rebel blew me away !!!! Im a BIG fan of Hong Kong cinema and martial arts movies , I must say that The Rebel is among the best Ive seen this year . The plot is great ,the fight scenes and acting are fabulous . . Cant wait for more from Johnny Nguyen and beautiful Veronica Ngo ( Beside she is a great actress she is a great pop star aswell ) 5 stars for both.SIMPLY AMAZING , enuff said!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5 big stars
Could this DVD possibly be any better? October 9, 2008
I'm not too good at explaining plots so I will direct you Mantis Lake's review. He does a very good job explaining the plot and gives an excellent overall review.
The fights are very good in this movie. A lot of real contact, and surprisingly realistic choreography with a lot of elbows and knees. And while they focus on realism, there's still a lot of flash and slow mo. Maybe a bit overdone on the slow mo, but a lot of it I thought was needed. Johnny Nguyen's skills look great as do Veronica Ngo's. The villain of the movie, Dustin Nguyen, doesn't seem to have that great of martial arts skills, but I could be totally wrong, because he certainly looks like he has been trained in many areas, but I didn't think he looked nearly as good as Johnny Ngyuen. Like I said, I think Veronica Ngo's skills look good, and then I find out she's not even a martial artist. But one thing I will say about Dustin is that he must be a very tough guy to take all those blows (he uses iron armor style in this movie). He must have had some serious bruising when the shooting was finished.
I enjoyed this movie quite a lot. I didn't think the story was great or anything, but not bad, but the 3 lead actors give great performances and it really elevates the movie.
After watching this movie a couple of times, I was still undecided on whether I should give it a 3 or a 4 star rating, but after hearing the commentary I developed a much greater appreciation for the movie and I can give it no less than 4 stars. And that leads me to the special features. Amazing stuff. I almost feel like giving this DVD a 5 star rating because the special features are so good. The commentary is one of the most enjoyable commentaries I have ever heard. Bey Logan is joined by the 3 lead actors and it is very informative and funny. There are several short behind the scenes featurettes, a 37 minute making of featurette (including some very funny stuff!), lenghty interviews with the 3 lead actors (each one over 30 minutes long), and a short martial arts demonstration by Johnny Nguyen. You know what, I feel that this DVD does deserve 5 stars, so that is what I am going to give it.
A must-See! October 7, 2008
I thought it was just a typical, Hong kong-style Martial arts movie when I rented it from Blockbuster and it rocks! I've never watched any Vietnamese movies before until The Rebel and it totally exceeded my expectations!
This movie feels like a big production despite its small budget. Besides the fight scenes, the story and the acting are all good. Many kudos to the lead actress who deserves recognition for her acting.
I'm gonna purchase this movie because it's a keeper.
 Indisputable Intrigue in Indochina October 2, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Set in French-occupied Vietnam in the 1920's, "The Rebel" tells the story of Vietnamese agent Cuong (Johnny Nguyen, "The Protector") who works for the French, putting out the fires of home-spun rebellion. After a time, his conscience starts eating away at him, which seems to coincide with the capture of the BEAUTIFUL daughter (Thanh Van Ngo) of a rebel leader. He helps her escape, but is he going to assist his fellow countrymen, or does he want her to lead him to her father?
Beautifully filmed on location in Vietnam, the movie's look gives you a feel for how hot and humid it must've been. The film boasts some good, but inconsistent, martial arts. The flick's main bad guy, Sy (Dustin Nguyen, former star of TV's "21 Jump Street"), is cold, multi-dimensional, and well played, but ridiculously indestructible. Especially for this having more "down to earth" fight scenes. It's certainly an interesting movie and I've never seen another one quite like it. This is hopefully the first of many Vietnamese martial arts-historical-romance-dramas. Don't let all the categories intimidate you. In terms of theme, it is similar to, but works better than, "House of Flying Daggers", and with more fights. It is funny to me how capricious love will sometimes refashion one's political stance, regardless of how strong and ingrained it may be. For the record I very much enjoyed watching it and it is recommended for those who want to expand their range of outlook.
I would like to have seen more native martial arts. Johnny Nguyen uses a style called Lien Feng Kwon (invented by his Grandfather), but most of the fights look like a cross between Muay Thai and Wushu. Which is not to say that they're bad: Quite the contrary. It's just that he was a member of the U.S. Wushu team, so it's hard to discern any distinguishable characteristics of the art. Hopefully, this film will at least serve as notice of Johnny Nguyen's abilities. This was a big enough hit in Southeast Asia that we will likely see a lot more of him. I, for one, hope that happens. Thanh Van (Veronica) Ngo also delivers some sweet moves, which is impressive because she is not a martial artist, and her foot was broken during the filming of the final fight.
This version from Dragon Dynasty is in Vietnamese (and some French) with English subtitles, or English dubbed. The 3 leads all speak English, dubbed their own voices, and provide commentary, along with Bey Logan. The special features are what you've come to expect from Dragon Dynasty: A "making of" featurette, lengthy interviews with the 3 leads, and a martial arts demonstration from Johnny Nguyen, which is cool, but far too short. 3.5 to 4, out of 5. Tough to decide. I'll guess you'll just have to see for yourself.
2006
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