Review of 13 Assassins (2010) by Brandon J — 20 Mar 2012

13 Assasins is a fantastic film from an exceptionally diverse film maker. Takashi Miike, whose name brings to mind oddball and excessively violent films, shows a great deal of talent in crafting this film.

The story is quite familiar to other samurai films I have seen, and not all together different than Zack Snyder's 300. What I really appreciated is the time that this film spent establishing the samurai mythology, the characters, their motivation for accepting the mission, and the tyranical lord they seek to assasinate.

It is likely that later events of the film would have considerably less gravitas without the attention given early on. I will admit, however, that I found it a tad difficult to keep track of all the charracters and their names, but this is largely due to the language barrier.

Most of the characters have unique enough personalities and styles that this is not a big problem. All the performances here are good, even great in some cases. After setting everything up and some travelling scenes, we are treated to a spectacular 40+ minute battle scene in which 13 men take on some 200 utilising strategy to help tip the scales in their favor.

I like the approach of showing strategy as an equally important part of the battle as the battle itself is, and this is something that does not seem to be too common in many similar films. While the insight into samurai culture and even a bit of political manuevering seems a bit out of place in a Miike film, there are still moments that please fans of his more hardcore works.

Chief amongst these is the image of one of the villainous lord's disfigured victims and the final battle isn't shy about the blood or beheadings. Highly recommended for fans of Miike's films, samurai films, or strategic war films.

This may even be enjoyable for flat out action fans, provided they can make it through opening hour and change. And even if you've been turned off by Miike in the past, give this movie a try. It is very straighforward and accessible.

Not to mention, enjoyable.