Rating

It's a good

Brief Review

12 samurai and 1 hunter are hired to assassinate the leader of the Akashi clan before joining the Shogunate Council. This is a remake of the 1963 film of the same name.

Story

In 1844 Japan, it was brought to the attention of Sir Doi Toshitsura of the sadistic tendencies of Lord Matsudaira Naritsugu of Akashi and how, because he is the half brother of the Shogun, he is to be appointed a member of the Shogunate Council. Sir Doi seeks out Shimada Shinzaemon, who used to work for the Shogun but because of the current peace time retired, to put together a plan to assassinate Naritsugu before he becomes a member of the Shogunate Council. Shinzaemon agrees and proceeds to hire 11 other samurai and in their travels come across a hunter who got trapped, who decided to help them.

What Was Good

The story was pretty solid. They showed Naritsugu's sadistic nature, his complete disregard of human life, and his life in his ivory tower. How the samurai were gathered made me think back to the movie Seven Samurai, and how they sought out others to help in their fight. And the final battle was quite epic, and I don't use that word lightly. The final battle in the city of Ochiai, which they outfitted with traps and explosives, was amazing to watch and did a great job at showing how war in ancient japanese times would have played out.

What Was Bad

It was too short. While the movie clocks in at just over 2 hours, I think they could have expanded more in the beginning, expanded more on Shinzaemon gathering his team, more with the history of Hanbei and Shinzaemon, and more with the fortification plans. The subtitles when they showed text on the screen went by too fast, I had to pause in order to read it. The only other thing I didn't like was Koyata's sudden arrival at the end. But, that doesn't ruin the movie for me, only that it was awkward for me.

Final Thoughts

The entire time I was getting flashbacks to the movie Seven Samurai. A bunch of samurai getting hired to kill a target, which requires fortifying a town, and with a long battle taking up half the movies run time. Even though I couldn't stop thinking about Seven Samurai, I still feel this is a very solid Japanese time period piece.

If you love samurai movies, it's a must watch. If you love bloody conflicts, you won't be disappointed.