Based on a manga series, this science fiction-adventure is set in a near future in which Japan is governed by a monarchy who use a highly trained band of samurai-style assassins known as the House of Takemikazuchi to suppress a fierce band of rebels. Yuki (Yumiko Shaku), a lethal young female member of the group, discovers that her mother was betrayed and murdered by the their leader, and swears vengeance. After being wounded in battle, she takes refuge in a remote gas station run by Takashi
(Hideaki Ito), a young man who is actually a member of the underground rebel army. Despite their mutual mistrust, he nurses her back to health and they form a bond as she seeks to continue her mission of vengeance and he tries to convince her otherwise. ~ Tom Vick, Rovi
Delicately rendered, if full of pretty banal sentiments, the film's softer central section is a necessary counterweight to the other two acts, which are largely shot in an oppressive blue filter.
[Yumiko Shaku] doesn't project the confidence or menace that the role requires. Trying to pass her off as a stone-cold assassin is like casting Britney Spears as Marie Curie -- it just doesn't jibe.
the film's opening action sequence is the first of several that are likely to have you thumbing the backscan button because they look so damn cool (and are so damn fast).
A brooding atmosphere -- which is critic-speak for 'everybody wears black, and the whole thing was lighted with a single 40-watt bulb' -- permeates this dystopian thriller.
It's clear that video-game-designer-turned-director Shinsuke Sato knows what he's got: when the action settles down, he wisely hangs the camera on his alluring stars.
A stylish Japanese effort adapted from a popular manga that blends the thematic substance of a Toho Samurai epic with the quicksilver visceral assault of a Shaw Brothers Wuxia swordsman saga.
A cliched revenge story but enjoyable none the less. Pretty decent fight scenes and a good soundrack to boot. Enjoyable enough but not one I would strongly recommend. If you need to watch Japanese girls swinging swords watch 'Azumi' instead of this, after that watch 'Azumi 2' and if you're still not satisfied 'The
Princess Blade' may help.
Japanese slash-'em-up based on comic book material. Disappointingly lacking in action during the middle parts where it gets a little slow, but when the action gets going it's pretty cool and stylishly choreographed, all masterminded by action star Donnie Yen. Would have been nice to have a little more fight sequences
and blood spurting to go with it too. Overall nothing memorable here unfortunately, but it's not a bad film.
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