Last night I, on a whim, turned on "13 Assassins" with no idea on what to expect, having never seen a Miike film before. Suffice to say, I was transfixed the entire time. It felt like Miike had watched a bunch of Kurosawa samurai films and decided to replicate the spirit of those, while adding in his own violent twists. The climactic battle scene, lasting around 45 minutes long, was an exhilarating piece of cinema and never once got boring. It's a smart, bloody, and surprisingly heroic film. There is no question that, among the most popular samurai films out of Japan, "13 Assassins" earns a place near the top.
If I had to pick out a detraction, I'd say that some of the characters were lacking in development (particularly a few of the titular assassins), but the main players were well acted and projected a powerful gravitas to their roles, Koji Yakusho and Goro Inagaki being the standouts (Inagaki in particular, as his part as the villain helped craft a thoroughly despicable antagonist that could easily find a home amongst like-minded peers from Game of Thrones).
Needless to say, I want to see more of what Miike has on tap, though with 100+ films to his name, picking one to watch next might be a challenge.
What are your thoughts on this film and which Miike films should I definitely seek out next?
Submitted March 30, 2020 at 05:12AM by RadProX https://ift.tt/2UL3glh