I'm pretty sure that many of you have heard about War Game 229, a Taiwan-made film that involves airsoft, and this time airsoft is used as is, not as props in an action movie in which they fire with muzzle flash, bullet casings, and bullets via software f/x. It is, even if the director and producers of the film may not admit, is an airsoft movie. War Game 229 was shown in theaters in Taiwan last October 28, 2011, and it's only just now that we are able to watch the movie with English subtitles.

But it goes beyond being an airsoft movie. The airsoft community have been looking forward to watching an airsoft movie, as it is. But how does one write about it that will take an hour and a half of watching? Indeed, even indie film makers who have used airsoft guns still look at them as mere props. In War Game 229, airsoft takes centerstage, no visual effects to make them look like real guns. airsoft in full battle glory.

The scriptwriters of War Game 229 can be commended that they put some of the usual ingredients of a typical movie:  action, romance, family drama, a villain and close friendships, without compromising its airsoft theme. With all these ingredients mixed with airsoft, War Game 229 is what I highly recommend to any airsoft player. It is not the usual Hollywood action thriller, but it's sure something that will warm your hearts, and can be watched by all ages.

War Game 229 is set in a military village, one of the many military villages that were established after the Chinese Nationalist Forces (Koumintang or KMT) were forced to flee Mainland China to the island of Formasa after they were defeated by the Chinese Communist Party in a long civil war which ended in 1950. That generation built Taiwan as we know it today, a vibrant and strong economy with democratic institutions.

As the veterans of the Chinese Civil War start fading away, the villages were being torn down to give way to new developments such as condos and commercial complexes. Whoever remains of the proud Nationalist veterans were evicted and housed in other complexes built by the government. These villages while awaiting demolition, became favorite playgrounds for airsoft players.

In this movie, a highly competitive airsoft team, called "Skyfighters", found a village where they can practice in preparation for the Asian War Game Championships, and claimed the area by painting it as "Area 5". Unbeknownst to them, a small, close-knit group of veterans still live in the village. As they practiced in the area, they had ruined the village with bb paint markers. The veterans found about the airsoft team, and they decided to procure airsoft guns in order to defend their village against the young intruders.

In a spirit of camaraderie among old dogs, though rusting, they fended off the airsoft team after surprising them in one of their practices. The commander of the veterans had a strained relationship with his grandson, as they quarreled a lot leading to the grandson fleeing their home and volunteered to be the point man for the Skyfighters to defeat the veterans as he knows the area well. In their attack on the village, only one veteran was in the area to defend, and successfully evaded the team, only to suffer from a heart attack. The grandson had a change of heart as he took responsibility for the accident. The captain of the Skyfighters, was in a relationship with the son of one of the villagers, after being challenged by the team's former captain, resigned from the team and joined the veterans after giving her apologies to what her team had done to their village.

After finding out that the government would demolish the village in a month's time, the veterans decided to make a final stand against the Skyfighters. Since they will be evicted anyway, they would rather have their village respected before they leave and thus challenged the Skyfighters to a tournament. If the veterans win, the Skyfighters should leave them alone, and if they lose, the Skyfighters can use the village for practice for the Asian Championships.

The final skirmish was fun to watch though it's not the usual airsoft game that we're familiar with as one player only gets taken out of the game if his or her target sticker gets hit or removed by an opposing player. After a long battle, it came down a stand-off by the Commander against the Captain of the Skyfighters. The veterans won and they got their wish, and the Skyfighters became their friends.

Overall, the acting amongst the younger stars needed a lot of improvement and the old actors showed them how as their acting was superb and the movie is heartwarming. The movie may not have been a blockbuster in Taiwan, but with the movie being posted online, the airsoft community are now able to watch it. If the producers are wise enough, they could have released a DVD or BlueRay copy to sell to the airsoft players who might want to have a copy of these for their own collections.

If you can find the full length movie online, better watch it before it gets taken down by copyright violation notices. Or you can request airsoft companies in Taiwan to provide copies of the movie when you buy airsoft guns from them. Watch the trailer below: