When you are talking about samurai movie there of course is only on movie against which you measure other ones, Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai in which a small village has to be defended by a couple of samurai warriors hired by the village.
The story of 13 Assasins is slightly different: an evil lord, Naritsugu Matsudaira, reigns with an iron fist and isn’t afraid of using mutilation and rape to make everyone fear him. He’s about to climb on the political ladder which could have a big impact on the land. The samurai decide that he has to be stopped and they devise a plan to assassinate him.
The movie has been directed by Takashi Miike and is a remake of a 1963 movie with the same title. The Wildgrounds site has created a very interesting comparison between the original and the remake.. Miike shows that he’s very good of telling a story as it’s shot beautifully. He’s also not afraid of showing blood or shocking moments, but they add to the story. I really liked the way in which the story is told as you know what has to happen at the end. Miike takes his time in showing the planning while you are anticipating what will finally has to happen. The payoff is big as you are treated to a fight which takes almost thirty minutes and is exciting to watch.
Maybe it was because I’ve recently seen Seven Samurai, but I did think not enough time was spent introducing the characters themselves. Because of it the fights didn’t have as much impact on me. If you haven’t seen Kurosawa’s movie you probably won’t mind it and you could add a point to the final score.
Score: 7
I’m agree that the most memorable part of 13 Assassins is the second half. The assassins battle against their adversary and his vicious massed minions in what is probably the longest non-stop, blood-spattered ruckus in cinema history.
It’s an amazing battle to watch and one that you won’t forget soon. Even if you are not interested in the genre it’s a very exciting thing to watch.
Although not generally a fan of the Samurai genre, this does look really cool and now with the cool 13 Assassins on the cards maybe Samurai films are due to take over :-)!