Review of 13 Assassins (2010) by Deltacofan — 07 Feb 2012

A Japanese movie made by Japanese people FOR Japanese people. Cultural, dramatic and action-packed, quite possibly the best samurai movie to date. (Story follows a said-to-be-true epic nearly all Japanese people are familiar with).

Underneath the lengthy end battle scene, there is an underlying message: Samurais are making their last stand for the traditional samurai code. Modern times are infringing on Japan and it's their last chance for honor, to restore balance, and bring forth the mighty katana of justice.. This is what makes Japanese culture so bad ass. It's always about the HONOR. The movie begins and ends with samurai performing harakiri (seppuku). Supposedly the last act of honor a samurai can perform. You simply do not see this kind of passion or commitment from anyone these days. Though disemboweling yourself for honor may be crazy and illogical to us, it made perfect sense to them.

There were some light-hearted parts in the film that really helped carry the audience on. The humor was subtle, but just enough to lighten the mood between gore and cruelty and violence.

Not to mention the cultural beliefs, costumes and traditions were very accurate for the time period (around 1840's.).

Acting was beautifully done. Most of the samurai seem stoic, just like they were in real life... Overall, awesome movie. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Japanese history/culture.