Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
"13 Assassins" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 07/10/2013
When a brutal sociopath becomes next in line to take power over a then peaceful Japan, a small group of samurai are dispatched to prevent him from reaching his kingdom and taking the throne. Takashi Miike is no stranger to blood and guts and so it was almost inevitable that he would turn his hand to the traditional samurai story at some point in his career, and he does so with a perfect balance between character-driven historical allegory and gritty, blood-soaked violence. Although the template for the story is clearly provided by the Kurosawa classic Seven Samurai, Miike evokes the tone of the likes of The Wild Bunch or Once Upon A Time In The West in portraying a group of men of action who no longer have a place in the world and grasp their last chance for glory or death. It concerns …
Rating of
3.5/4
13 Assassins
Harley Lond - wrote on 02/20/2012
Legendary cult director Takashi Miike ("Ichi the Killer," "Audition") delivers a bravado action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic, murderous lord to prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future. The 13 assassins track the lord down and lure him into a small town that they have transformed into a city of death, there to battle his 200-man string army in one of the longest -- and most elaborate -- battles ever committed to celluloid. Miike -- generally known for gore and extreme violence -- here tones things down in a mainstream, old-fashioned samurai film that would make Akira Kurosawa proud. Yes, there is bloodshed (particularly at the beginning, when Miike sets up the …
Rating of
3/4
13 Assassins review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 10/10/2011
The 13 assassins are SHIMADA Shinzaemon (Kōji Yakusho) is the leader of the group. A war weary, and former Shogun's Samurai, KURANAGA Saheita (Hiroki Matsukata) a veteran samurai, SHIMADA Shinrokurō (Takayuki Yamada) the nephew of Shinzaemon. ISHIZUKA Rihei (Kazuki Namioka) a skilled samurai, HIRAYAMA Kujūrō (Tsuyoshi Ihara) was trained by Shinzaemon. MITSUHASHI Gunjirō (Ikki Sawamura) came from Kuranaga's dojo, ŌTAKE Mosuke (Seiji Rokkaku) a chubby samurai, HIOKI Yasokichi (Sōsuke Takaoka) from Kuranaga's dojo, HIGUCHI Gennai (Yūma Ishigaki) – Horii's demolition partner, HORII Yahachi (Kōen Kondō) skilled with explosives, SAHARA Heizō (Arata Furuta) familiar with the spear, OGURA Shōujirō (Masataka Kubota) the youngest …
