andrew koji

Warrior – Season 1: Episode 9 “Chinese Boxing” The Cry for Representation is Clear

Episode 9 starts with Leary negotiating with Byron on hiring his men for the railway contract while Li Young and Ah Sahm prepare for their match. Penny is informed by Jacob about the match, prompting her to go. At this time, O’Hara and Lee notice the streets of Chinatown are quieter than usual, finding that the community is gathering to spectate the match. Ah Sahm and Young Jun have a moment while Li Young questions Mai Ling on the probability of only one of them walking away. The Foon Hai, Ah Toy, Long Zi and the Hop Wei all gather as O’Hara and Lee join with the other Chinatown officers to spectate. Ah Sahm and Li Young step onto the mat, paying their respects to each other as Wang Chao explains the rules to O’Hara. Ah Sahm manages to gain the upperhand throughout the first part of the match, catching […]

Warrior – Season 1: Episode 8 “They Don’t Pay Us Enough to Think” The Downward Spiral

Kyle Wong

The episode immediately starts from episode 7 with the Hop Wei and the Long Zi charging at each other in the streets of Chinatown. Both sides experiencing casualties in a bloody battle.Penny wakes up to Mayor Blake and Buckley discussing a solution for the Chinatown brawl. Buckley tells Mayor Blake must side with Senator Crestwood with handling the Chinatown violence leaking out. Penny hears the news as she worries and Blake gives the railway contract to Byron, inviting him to a dinner in Crestwood’s honor.Wang Chao visits the Hop Wei to discuss a resolution with Mai Ling, Father Jun accepts the meeting as he tells Young Jun that they must fight smarter and wanting to understand Mai Ling’s motives as he knew Long Zii’s.Father Jun and Young Jun meet with Mai Ling and Li Young coming to terms of not breaking their truce. Lao Ting proposes a fight between a […]

Warrior – Season 1: Episode 7 “The Tiger and the Fox” The True Nature of People

Kyle Wong

Based on a Chinese folktale about a tiger and a fox, it is told by Mai Ling within the episode, and I’m not a history buff or an expert on Chinese idioms, metaphors and philosophies. I do know it is interesting that a show with this much depth and history really opens your eyes to so many little details that the creators and Bruce Lee have put in. As always, it is up to the reader and viewer to find its meaning. The episode starts with Long Zii with Mai Ling as he looks back at his yesteryears of being free to roam the streets of Chinatown but knows his time is coming. Ah Toy is looking to purchase women for her brothel from Zan. After finding one of the women bruised, Zan offers Lai; a young girl from a village that Ah Toy takes notice and immediately purchases her. […]

Warrior – Season 1: Episode 6 “Chewed Up, Spitted Out and Stepped On” What Family Really Means

Kyle Wong

This link was shared by a friend on Facebook and I wish to share it on this review as San Francisco’s Chinatown is slowly vanishing. As the main setting of the series and the entry point of many Chinese immigrants who managed to make a better life for themselves and their families, it has come to a point where it might disappear. This is history and this community has survived through the Chinese Exclusion Act, Black plague, gang wars and natural disasters. After this review, please click the link and help support San Francisco’s Chinatown. Episode 6 starts out with a bang… Yes I made a sexual innuendo as Ah Sahm and Penny reunite after Nevada, while Chinatown celebrates Chinese New Year. O’Hara and Lee patrol the streets during the lion dance and festivities while the Long Zi try to assassinate Father Jun via bombing. O’Hara returns home to find […]

Warrior – Season 1: Episode 5 “The Blood and the Shit” Finding One’s Purpose within

Kyle Wong

“We’ll be back in the blood and the shit soon.” –Ah Sahm Ah Sahm and Young Jun are traveling back from Nevada via stagecoach to bring a corpse stuffed with ingots back for Father Jun. Traveling with them are Father Flynn, Shepherd and his wife Nancy and Mason. And the usual racist connotations and remarks are given back and forth by the latter but Flynn is more accepting with the two. The travel back is stopped by Lew the driver doesn’t want to risk going past sun down. They take shelter in a small saloon run by Billie and Lu, it is a mix of warm welcome for Ah Sahm and Young Jun but more of a forceful entry by Mason. Lu offers Ah Sahm and Young Jun a piece of proper Chinese cooking as they reminisce of the old country. Young Jun falls for Wankeia who works in the […]

WARRIOR Series Review: Ep. 1 “The Itchy Onion” Soothes The Itch With World-Building Action And Intrigue

Kyle Wong

Now I have talked about this series on end and I think it’s time to talk about each episode and character on how it all culminated to an end on December 4, 2020. Let’s go back to 1971, Bruce Lee wrote up a concept known as “The Warrior”, a story where a martial artist from China comes to the American West. Lee wanted to pitch it to Warner Bros. but they chose not to move forward with the project. And yet the concept was released with David Carradine and titled “Kung Fu”. It was also said that Bruce Lee was not given credit and was not casted because of his accent and because the American audience is not ready for a Chinese main character. In 2015, Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon was contacted by Justin Lin and his company Perfect Storm Entertainment. Now Justin Lin has been a huge advocate of […]

WARRIOR Season Two Launch: The Battlefield Gets A Little Bigger, As Does The Bodycount

Lee B. Golden III

The first season of Cinemax’s hit series, Warrior, premiered last April to the benefit of a highly thrilled viewing audience, introducing martial arts fans to a contemporary vision of a kung fu Western once birthed in the mind of film legend, Bruce Lee. Host to an epic, layered world of triads, corrupt politicians and police caught in the middle in the battleground of 1870s San Francisco, that legacy continued with the second season premiere reintroducing Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji), brought back into the throes of the Hop Wei gang after redeeming himself post-defeat at the hands of Long Zii enforcer, Li Yong (Joe Taslim). Pit fighting at the Barbary Coast where he befriends ringleader Rosalita Vega (Maria Elena Laas), Ah Sahm is left coming to terms with his defeat on his own accord. In addition, there’s also the betrayal and abandonment of being ostracized earlier on by Hop Wei boss, […]

BULLET TRAIN Adds Andrew Koji And Joey King

Lee B. Golden III

Following news from July with the addition of Brad Pitt to David Leitch’s newest Sony Pictures’s venture, Bullet Train, comes word from Deadline‘s Justin Kroll that Japanese/British actor Andrew Koji has boarded the project. Also joining will be Slender Man actress Joey King with a script by Fear Street writer Zak Olkewicz. Bullet Train is inspired by Maria Beetle, the 2010 Kadokawa Shoten publication from author Kotaro Isaka which, in the novel according to earlier trade news descriptions from Deadline, centers on five assassins who “find themselves on a fast-moving bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with only a few stops in between. They discover their missions are not unrelated to one another.” As the rest of the plot notes, “The question becomes, who will make it off the train alive and what awaits them at the terminal station?” Leitch will also be joined by Kelly McCormick in producing the […]

WARRIOR: Cinemax’s Knockout Hit Series Lands An Official Season Two Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Can it be October already? Preferably the weekend of October 2, because the second season of the hit series Warrior is well on the way, and after whetting our appetites with a teaser this summer, we now have an official trailer, and the show’s intended love letter to Bruce Lee is all over the place. The series follows Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji), a martial arts prodigy who emigrates from China to San Francisco under mysterious circumstances. After proving his worth as a fighter, Ah Sahm becomes a hatchet man for the Hop Wei, one of Chinatown’s most powerful Tongs (Chinese organized crime family). Season two follows rival Chinatown Tongs as they fight for dominance amidst the growing anti-Chinese fervor that threatens to destroy them all. With a two-season booker here, one wonders if there will be a third if that’s how the story pans out. I know I’d welcome it. […]

WARRIOR: Cinemax’s Hit Series Has Some Unfinished Business In Season Two This October

Lee B. Golden III

As gutting as it was when many of us learned that Cinemax would be axing its original programming from its slate, it was a pill we all had to swallow. The good news, however, is that while Gangs Of London has a new home, the HBO network subsidiary is still taking to fans of their hit series, Warrior, with the promise of a TV and MaxGo.com October premiere date for the second season. Here’s the gist of it: The series follows Ah Sahm (Andrew Koji), a martial arts prodigy who emigrates from China to San Francisco under mysterious circumstances. After proving his worth as a fighter, Ah Sahm becomes a hatchet man for the Hop Wei, one of Chinatown’s most powerful Tongs (Chinese organized crime family). Season two follows rival Chinatown Tongs as they fight for dominance amidst the growing anti-Chinese fervor that threatens to destroy them all. Cinemax press […]

SNAKE EYES: ‘Warrior’ Series Star Andrew Koji Nabs The Role Of Storm Shadow For Paramount And Hasbro Film Spin-Off

Lee B. Golden III

Regarding some of the best casting news ever, it now appears that the forthcoming G.I. Joe spin-off a la Snake Eyes has found its antagonist in actor Andrew Koji for the role of Storm Shadow. Koji, who is expected to recur for a second season offering in Cinemax series, Warrior, inherits the role from actor Lee Byung-Hun who portrayed the character in 2009 and 2013 under directors Stephen Sommers and Jon M. Chu. Storm Shadow launched via Marvel Comics for Hasbro’s popular G.I. Joe IP in 1984 and its subsequent animated series. His real name is Tomasiburo (or Thomas) Arashikage, once a student of his uncle, the Hard Master alongside Snake Eyes. In a misguided attempt to kill Snake Eyes, Tomasiburo attempted to poison him, only to miss his target. The Hard Master perishes as a result, ensuing a circumstantially complex tragedy that since forged a rift between both warriors […]

WARRIOR: Cinemax Greenlights Season Two For The Hit Martial Arts Crime Drama

Lee B. Golden III

It was certainly a matter of time, but Cinemax is making it official as of Wednesday with news that Warrior has been renewed for a second season. Len Amato, president, HBO Films, Miniseries and CINEMAX Programming, made the announcement this week as episode four of the hit martial arts series remains pending for its Friday broadcast on Cinemax. “Bruce Lee’s vision is alive and well,” noted Amato. “WARRIOR combines high-energy martial arts with wit and brains. We’re thrilled to renew such a great show for a second season on CINEMAX.” The show is literally decades in the making, birthed from the mind of martial arts legend Bruce Lee whose own concept was once rejected by studio majors only to see it erected for television as Kung Fu with a new vision and star at the time. Daughter and Warrior exec producer Shannon Lee of Bruce Lee Entertainment shepherded the show’s […]

DEEP PAN FURY: Watch ‘Warrior’ Star Andrew Koji Slay Gangsters In This Incredible Martial Arts Action Short

Lee B. Golden III

I know I’m not earning any particular points for this, but the mood is definitely about right this week just shy of 48 hours until Cinemax’s series premiere, Warrior. For those not yet familiar with one of starring actor Andrew Koji’s recent exploits, indie director Charlie Dennis’s kickstarter-backed action short, Deep Pan Fury, I humbly invite any and all to check it out above. Deep Pan Fury is a short martial arts film about Katashi Kimoto, a young Japanese street fighter trying to change his ways. After leaving his native Japan for a small English town, Katashi soon learns that Oni, a ruthless chinpira of the notorious 9th Shade Clan, has been extorting his Grandfathers struggling pizza shop. Old habits die-hard and Katashi finds himself fighting for a new cause. Family honour. I’ve shared and covered this project on multiple occasions as it hosts some of the best and brightest […]

WARRIOR Official Season One Trailer: ‘Somebody Has To Fight Back!’

Lee B. Golden III

As it stands, the future couldn’t be brighter for the fate of martial arts cinema on television. With Into The Badlands making its exit from AMC in a few weeks, Cinemax is officially next in line with its own roster led by breakout actor Andrew Koji in the new series, Warrior, born and bread from the mind of the late Bruce Lee and re-birthed through the auspices of daughter Shannon Lee, and creators Justin Lin’s Perfect Storm and Jonathan Tropper’s Tropper Ink. Warrior is a gritty, action-packed crime drama set during the brutal Tong Wars of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the second half of the 19th century. The series follows Ah Sahm, a martial arts prodigy who immigrates from China to San Francisco under mysterious circumstances, and becomes a hatchet man for one of Chinatown’s most powerful tongs (Chinese organized crime family). Also starring are Kieran Bew, Olivia Cheng, Dianne […]

WARRIOR: Cinemax’s Bruce Lee-Inspired Drama Premieres April 5. Watch The New Teaser!

Lee B. Golden III

That Cinemax’s latest martial arts drama, Warrior, is already working the kinks out for its second season could be telling about what promise the first may hold. Bruce Lee fans and folks keen on this inspired period drama from Shannon Lee, Justin Lin (Fast franchise) and Jonathan Tropper (Banshee) will get just the insight they’re looking for when it premieres on April 5, as stated in the official teaser trailer above. Inspired by an idea from martial-arts legend Bruce Lee, this gritty, action-packed crime drama is set during the brutal Tong Wars of San Francisco’s Chinatown in the second half of the 19th century. Filming in Cape Town, South Africa, it follows a martial arts prodigy who immigrates from China to San Francisco under mysterious circumstances, and becomes a hatchet man for one of Chinatown’s most powerful organized crime families. The new footage comes along with exclusive photos over at […]

WARRIOR: Cinemax Releases An Official Teaser For The New Bruce Lee-Inspired Martial Arts Drama

Lee B. Golden III

Cinemax’s long-awaited Tong Wars period martial arts drama, WARRIOR, is coming in 2019!

Cinemax’s New Martial Arts Series Drama, WARRIOR, Sets Its Cast!

Lee B. Golden III

Among many of the film, TV and independent projects I’ve followed up on, one stood out as something worth following in its early days as I had known of the folks working on its action for its director, Charlie Dennis. Fast forward three Winters later and we were introduced to the world of gritty martial arts short, Deep Pan Fury, with UK actor Andrew Koji, whose extensive TV and film acting and stunt credits include 2007 Muay Thai flick, Fighting Beat, Justin Lin’s Furious 6 and as the voice of Hien in Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood. Conclusively, I couldn’t be more proud of Koji this week, and that brings us to the longstanding developments of Cinemax’s upcoming ten-episode martial arts drama, Warrior which is set to go before cameras in South Africa on October 22. Netflix series Fauda helmer Assaf Bernstein is directing from a script by Banshee creator […]