Review of ICHI (2008) by Mike M — 05 Jul 2009

Yet another live-action version of the Zatoichi legend, and one that feels doubly redundant (not to mention staid) for arriving so soon after Takeshi Kitano's all-singing, all-dancing take on the blind warrior offered audiences everything but the kitchen sink.

.. In the end, it's another Zatoichi that takes after its lead. Kitano didn't let the character's disability prevent him from winking at his audience; Ayase, on the other hand, seems a terrible mope, employed chiefly for her ability to hold a forlorn close-up, who barely merits our cheers in a succession of swordfights mostly lacking in variation.

Pairing her with a "sassy" kid you want someone to push out of a tree and into a river really doesn't help.