Miike is Miike. You find him either essential or inaccessible. 13 Assassins is no different. Thankfully I find myself in the first camp and I have to say this is his most conventional and possibly his best work to date. I was lucky enough to catch a 3 day window for a pre screening special on Amazon (I suggest checking them out from time to time for cool limited release films). 13 Assassins is a classic chanbara film in the vein of Kurosawa's samurai movies or the Zutochi flicks. Like I said it's either your thing or it's not but those appreciative of solid film making will find plenty to love here. Acting, story and cinematography all come together like no samurai movie has in decades. 13 Assassins clocks in at 2 hours and 5 minutes with a 45 minute fight scene. That's right almost half the movie is an intense, just slightly over-the-top action scene, so to develop an emotional attachment to the heroes in such a short amount of time is nothing short of a once in a lifetime achievement for director Takashi Miike. By the time you get to the scene with the picture above I guarantee you will be on the edge of your seat. I literally had to stop the movie to prepare myself for the biggest fight scene I have ever seen.
I can't recommend 13 Assassins enough. It's a solid, straight forward good guy vs bad guy chanbara film that deserves the respect that Seven Samurai has earned because in my humble opinion it is the new standard. I won't go into too many details because you have to experience it for yourself.
Btw the samurai with the staff is my favorite.
No comments:
Post a Comment