Takashi Miike is one of Japan’s most innovative filmmakers. His movies are regularly accompanied by controversy, as he graphically explores the extremes of sex and violence. Films like “Audition” and “Dead or Alive” have made his name as a cult auteur. But he’s so prolific — having directed about six dozen feature and television films — that he’s also delved into the juvenile and the sentimental. It would be interesting to see an original talent make something new of the samurai flick, a genre that reached its zenith in Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 classic “Seven Samurai.” Sadly, that’s not what we have here. “13 Assassins” is a disappointingly straight-up samurai adventure — and one that owes more than a little to Kurosawa’s masterpiece.
The film opens dramatically. A man kneels before the palace of his lord and commits harakiri. It turns out to have been an act of protest. Lord Naritsugu (Goro Inagaki) is a ruthless man, raping and murdering at will, protected because he is the half brother of the shogun. One of the shogun’s advisers has had enough. He hires a retired, but still spry, samurai to gather a team to take him down. “His lust for flesh and dishonorable conduct cannot be pardoned.” Shinzaemon (Koji Yakusho) warns his recruits that they face almost certain death. But that’s the way of the samurai: to fight for an honorable end. As Shinzaemon says, “He who values his life dies a dog’s death.” And perhaps no one values his life more than does Naritsugu. But he has an army of 200 at his side, while there are only, as the title notes, 13 assassins.
| On screen |
| ’13 Assassins’ |
| 2.5 out of 5 stars |
| Stars: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada and Yusuke Iseya |
| Director: Takashi Miike |
| Rated: R for sequences of bloody violence, some disturbing images and brief nudity |
| Running time: 141 minutes |
The crew features the usual suspects: a jolly, chubby fighter; a wayward son looking for redemption; a youngster unsure of his skills. You’ve seen this film before, many times. It’s a little gorier than most, but nowhere near the typical Miike bloodfest. Inagaki is suitably sadistic, and Yukusho properly principled. But you’d be better off saving your money and spending it on a copy of “Seven Samurai.” Despite one American remake and another on the way, nothing has even come close to its strength and power.
