Review of Bunraku (2010) by Eric H — 15 May 2012

Every so often, a movie comes along that defies categorization. Oozing style, entertaining, fun to watch... escapism in the best possible way. You will immediately notice the influence of the Japanese puppet theater from which the title is derived in the opening credits. As a die hard Mike Patton fan, I loved his narration as the escalation of violence and the new world was introduced.

Every fight scene has a unique flavor, accentuated by cinematic flair often using techniques that lend a cardboard pop-up book feel, identifying the "bad guys" by their assassin ranking in a continuance of the unreal but carefully constructed world.

Considering the cast of stellar actors such as Woody Harrelson, Josh Hartnett, Demi Moore, Ron Perlman, Mike Patton as narrator and international superstar Gackt... I was caught off guard by Kevin Mckidd's performance as Killer No. 2.

By no means is this a perfect movie. You will either love it, or you will hate it vehemently. I found it to be ridiculously fun and a refreshing change of pace. It is bold and colorful, and a movie that took great risks that ultimately did not pay off (probably because they had NO idea how to market this). The plot and dialogue serve their purpose: to set up the next bit of eye candy and action.

If you're looking for something that you haven't seen a million times already with a different name, check this out. I've never seen anything like it, and I doubt that anything will ever be made that equals what was attempted. Stepping away from the way that I normally rate movies, I give it 5 stars, for daring to be creative when the American movie-goers are more than happy to pay for mediocrity and rehashes / reboots / remakes / sequels / spin-offs / trilogies / prequels / tie-ins / or simply the easy cash grab.

I will always enjoy a flawed movie that "dared to be different" over more of the same. Chances are, if you're still reading this, you will probably like it. So give it a chance. I believe it's free on Netflix instant right now :).