Relentlessly prolific filmmaker Takashi Miike turns his hand to the period samurai genre with 13 Assassins.
Heres Nicks review…
Takashi Miike is a difficult director to pin down.
Rightly so, as it turns out, as13 Assassinsis an absolute blast.
So, he decides to hire badass samurai, Shinzaemon (Koji Yakusho), to kill him.
And thats pretty much that.
Its simple, its lean, and it leaves maximum time for samurai versus samurai action.
Which is what youre here for.
This is one of the strengths of Miikes.
Its the visceral thrills of the film which endlessly entertain.
Its technically marvellous, with the sound editing and practical effects augmenting the story and action incredibly well.
Hes a noble figure you will on to succeed, but fear he might not.
), and the thin characterisations of the thirteen assassins beyond the main leads.
Rating:
4 out of 5
