13 Assassins (2010)

Just in case you are new to the site and haven’t read my reviews much I love samurai movies.  There is just something about them that appeals to me.  So when I heard that one of my favorite directors, Takashi Miike, was making one I was pretty psyched. 

The story here revolves around an evil lord named Naritsugu.  The movie takes some time to establish that this guy is a real brute.  We see him rape and kill just to keep the servants in line.  His idea is that to be a leader you must be brutal.  He gets away with this because he is the half brother of the Shogun (who is the leader of the country) and is in line for power.  When it is learned that he is to be given the position of next in line for the Shogunate it is decided that he must be eliminated.  A small group of samurai are tasked with killing Naritsugu before he reaches his home province and is officially given his new position.  But to kill him they must fight thru his guards, who seriously outnumber them.  Only thru planning and cunning will they have a chance.

Like I’ve already said I love samurai movies and this is a great one.  The story is paced very well and is easy to follow.  The biggest complaint that I’ve had from friends that I’ve tried to show these movies to is that they don’t know what is going on.  Here Miike is very careful to make the story accessible and to keep the politics to a minimum.  This makes the story really accessible to a western audience that might not be into Japanese culture and history.  What we do get on screen is a solid villain in Naritsugu, a memorable group of samurai going after him, and lots of action.  This makes for a very exciting and entertaining flick with a 2 plus hour runtime that flies by. 

13 Assassins is a samurai movie so we have to talk about some swordplay.  The choreography is excellent and the fights are easy to follow.  The last 20 or so minutes of the movie might be some of the best that I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot.  We get plenty of swords flashing and blood spraying.  And again it is easy to follow and see what happens to the characters.  In addition to that fights Miike does a wonderful job shooting the movie.  We get some wonderful shots and the staging is fantastic.  So many fans focus on the more twisted side of Miike that they miss out on how great of a filmmaker he is.  That said there is one nice touch with one of Naritsugu’s victims that I’ll not spoil here, but is classic Miike. 

I could keep going on and on about 13 Assassins.  But I think that I’ve already made my point.  This is a great movie that everyone needs to take the time to check out.  I’m happy to have it in my collection and will be watching it again.  I highly recommend it.

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2011 John Shatzer