Review of 13 Assassins (2010) by Bryan Y — 16 Aug 2012

Possibly my favourite samurai film of all time. It's beautifully shot by gore master Takashi Miike, and give justice to all classic Samurai film. (What most average movie goers would know as classic westerns.) Admittedly, the first hour goes by at a medium to slow pace, but as a huge fan of the genre it fits in perfectly. Each characters motivation for their involvement in the story is explained, and it sets up for what must be my favorite actions sequence of the past 5 years. The last act of the film is what you are supposed to describe as 'epic', and had many people in the crowd of it's TIFF screening fist pumping.

When it's all said and done, the climax of this film is an intricately planned bloody battle which lasts for an adrenaline-pumping 45 minutes.