Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike made his reputation directing offbeat crime films that featured wild twists, energetic momentum, creative imagery, and often extreme acts of violence, cranking out as many as eight films in a single year. He has slowed down in recent years as his productions grew bigger but he’s still one of the most prolific filmmakers in the world and Blade of the Immortal--a sprawling samurai adventure based on a long-running manga by Hiroaki Samura--is billed as his 100th film. Japanese TV star Takuya Kimura plays the sword-wielding anti-hero Manji, an assassin cursed with immortality thanks to magical bloodworms that heal his wounds. After a black-and-white prologue that sketches a tragic backstory (including his failure to save his little sister), Manji becomes bodyguard to a teenage girl (Hana Sugisaki) who is on a mission of vengeance against the men who slaughtered her family--a band of rogue fighters who are led by an androgynous madman. It’s a set-up for scene after gory scene of swordplay as Manji mows down armies of anonymous swordsmen and engages in singular combat with particularly gifted enemies, and Miike delivers flying limbs, spraying blood, and fields of corpses with flamboyant style and a mordant sense of humor. The excess action becomes part of the point: revenge can result in an epic body count. Sure to please action and samurai movie fans, this is recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Blade of the Immortal
Magnolia, 141 min., in Japanese w/English subtitles & English-dubbed, R, DVD: $26.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 Volume 33, Issue 3
Blade of the Immortal
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