’13 Assassins’ DVD Review

Director: Takeshi Miike

Cast: Koji Yakusho, Takayuki Yamada, Goro Inagaki

Plot: When a local Lord is revealed to be an total dick a group of samurai warriors band together to assassinate him.

Review: And what you see in that plot summary is basically what you get. This is as straight forward as a narrative gets. Not that the film is in any way shallow, but it is focused on a singular purpose. 13 Assassins wears its influences on its sleeves having clearly taken inspiration from Akira Kurasawa’s Seven Samurai, even reflecting the simple title. Like the classic epic this film puts the focus on a group of characters knowingly sacrificing themselves for the good of the people. Instead of defending a village from bandits, these assassins are taking down a powerful enemy and his cohort of 200 samurai guards.

Goro Inagaki has, in Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira, given life to one of the most terrifying and menacing sociopaths ever to haunt our screens. The man is completely amoral and ruthless, inflicting horror on those around him with all the emotion of a plank of wood, viewing his victims with a cold detachment that would chill Hannibal Lector. One of the strengths of the film comes from the desire of the viewer to see justice brought down on a man who slices the limbs off a concubine for no reason, only to cast her out when he got bored with her. The limbless woman is a disturbing image indeed, and one that casts the right light on the villain.

Unlike most action films of the modern era13 Assassins does not pad out the running time with side stories or love interests. The entire focus is on this one assassination attempt. We get introduced to the 13 assassins and they are given enough personality and motivation to separate them out from each other. After that we only see the planning for the assault before the unbelievably epic showdown in a village rigged to function as a trap.

To call the third act of the film an action scene does not quite to it justice. The entirety of third part of the film shows the 13 samurai fighting against an army of 200 and it is simply mind blowing. Takeshi Miike’s trademark violence, which in the past has been squirmingly, artistically horrifying, has been substantially toned down for this outing yet it still outstrips the average action film in terms of blood letting. The excessive and sometimes shocking violence does lend a sense of realism to the frenzied sword fights and contrasts strongly with the discussions about about nobility.

The length of the battle at the end of the movie does have a downside. Although they mix things up with traps and explosives it does start to feel a bit repetitive. After twenty minutes of people hacking at each other if feels like nothing new is going to happen and the blood splattered heroes all start looking the same and their deaths feel less impactful.

By the end of the film you will have experienced one of the most satisfying action films in recent memory. The long build up to the finale delivers in a big way. This is unmissable for fans of samurai films or action movies.

Score: EIGHT outta TEN