Review of Shogun Assassin (1980) by Bob V — 10 Oct 2007

"Shogun Assassin" has been a major influence on pop-culture for years. Everything from GZA's "Liquid Swords" to Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" have been direct homages to this samurai classic.

It is bloody. It is violent. It is awesome.

The great thing about this super bad ass movie is that you experience it more than you watch it. Meaning that it pulls you into this world of Shogun Ninja Warriors and the lengths to which they will go to make things right in their eyes.

It is a revenge movie and it does what all great revenge films do. It gives great motivation and drive to the main character. You sympathize with him. You understand that while you may never do the things he will do and you may never have gone through the pain of suffering for which he has encountered, you understand why he is doing it and tell yourself that if it happened to you, you might go on a kill crazy rampage of justice. The Shogun's decapitator's wife is murdered and when you kill the wife of a ninja who has "cut off the heads of 131 lords" you can bet your bottom dollar that he will stop at nothing to detach your noggin from your body.

And as viewers we get to revel in the awesome awe, devotion, and dedication of a man who deserves his revenge. And dammit, he will have it. Even if it kills him.

A must see for any fan of the genre.