13 Assassins

Much predictable and brutal. Just some action movie in which 13 guys kill by hundreds ...

Takashi Miike excels at creating true horror from the internal darkness of humanity and this is clearly evident in his brutal depiction of the villain of this movie, Lord Naritsugu. Through this characterization he establishes a strong motivation for us to stick around and witness the epic 45 minute battle at the film's climax in our hope to see Naritsugu brought to justice. Period Japan is depicted in a fashion that appears competent and authentic and the climactic battle is satisfyingly crunchy and visceral. The story is simple and direct and Miike's deft hand spends the first half setting up a truly despicable, hate-able villain and the titular assassins and their heroic leader, Shinzaemon, then the second half delivering a very satisfyi...

Very much in the spirit of Kurosawa, Takashi Miike has assembled a strong cast to depict some fairly epic struggles for power in the 19th century Japanese shogunate. It's the brother of the Shogun who seems to be the source of the trouble. Having mercilessly murdered a family - against the instructions of his sibling - he has earned the enmity of veteran Samurai "Shinzaemon" (Kôji Yakusho) but with a significant political appointment in Edo looming, it would appear he is untouchable. It's the journey "Naritsugu" (Gorô Inagaki) must make through the densely forested countryside that might offer an opportunity for revenge, but he has the equally lethal Samurai "Hanbei" (Masachika Ichimura) orgainisng his large escort. With but a dozen men and...