For so long I've waited to be blown away by a film. Every movie I've watched recently just doesn't measure up. As films continued to disappoint me I found solace in comics and TV. Finally, Takashi Miike releases his masterpiece. This film is grand on every scale and is so beautifully composed, it hit every note.
I'll start with the expectations of a Miike film. He is known for his violence and gore, which is simply underestimating the man. Sure, films like Visitor Q and Ichi the Killer flirt with controversy before sodomizing it, but he knows how to create a movie. He manages to reduce and compromise our expectations with the opening scene. A man commits harakiri. Always gruesome, but Miike actually cuts to just the man's face. Is Miike getting soft? Far from it. This just means that the violent showdown is all the more powerful. He releases the violence when the time is right.
Unlike recent Hollywood action films, Sucker Punch and Battle LA, the journey towards the action is what makes it so fascinating. Miike spends a long time exploring his characters and their beliefs, as well as the themes of the movie. This means that the final fight is about something and someone. They aren't just trying to kill a guy, they are showing us what they believe. Like many samurai films, this deals a lot with loyalty, duty and honor. However, it is far more critical of these things than previous films. Inagaki plays such a despicable villain, that it parodies how dedicated his samurai are. Inagaki is such a fun villain to hate. He's egotistical and grotesque, always relying on those around him for protection. The film has a lot of dialogue as it escalates towards the finale, but it never tells us the exact plan.
I was completely unprepared for the last 40 minutes. Miike has built up his characters, has outlined the threats (and then increased them) and everything is set to go. So why is the finale so epic? First of all it starts with the absurd. Despite it's build up Miike throws a curve ball, but does so with such confidence that we are still gripped. He presents his 13 assassins (at first) as being almost invincible. They dive around, take on dozens of samurai etc. but it's all a lot of fun. Next, he starts to injure the protagonists. It comes as a shocking reminder that these guys can be hurt, making us now fully invested in the scene. Miike shoots everything with a simple fluidity. You can see what is going on, who is killing who, even though you are surrounded by blood and explosions. Finally, as the characters have been whittled down, we get a personal confrontation. One that reminds us what all this is for. It takes a lot of skill to make a lengthy action scene enjoyable for its duration. Especially when it goes from fun, to tense, to tragic, before it all comes to an end.
It's a film that really does come together. I was more than satisfied, and I felt that I had been escorted on a complete journey, whilst enjoying the sites.
I'll start with the expectations of a Miike film. He is known for his violence and gore, which is simply underestimating the man. Sure, films like Visitor Q and Ichi the Killer flirt with controversy before sodomizing it, but he knows how to create a movie. He manages to reduce and compromise our expectations with the opening scene. A man commits harakiri. Always gruesome, but Miike actually cuts to just the man's face. Is Miike getting soft? Far from it. This just means that the violent showdown is all the more powerful. He releases the violence when the time is right.
Unlike recent Hollywood action films, Sucker Punch and Battle LA, the journey towards the action is what makes it so fascinating. Miike spends a long time exploring his characters and their beliefs, as well as the themes of the movie. This means that the final fight is about something and someone. They aren't just trying to kill a guy, they are showing us what they believe. Like many samurai films, this deals a lot with loyalty, duty and honor. However, it is far more critical of these things than previous films. Inagaki plays such a despicable villain, that it parodies how dedicated his samurai are. Inagaki is such a fun villain to hate. He's egotistical and grotesque, always relying on those around him for protection. The film has a lot of dialogue as it escalates towards the finale, but it never tells us the exact plan.
I was completely unprepared for the last 40 minutes. Miike has built up his characters, has outlined the threats (and then increased them) and everything is set to go. So why is the finale so epic? First of all it starts with the absurd. Despite it's build up Miike throws a curve ball, but does so with such confidence that we are still gripped. He presents his 13 assassins (at first) as being almost invincible. They dive around, take on dozens of samurai etc. but it's all a lot of fun. Next, he starts to injure the protagonists. It comes as a shocking reminder that these guys can be hurt, making us now fully invested in the scene. Miike shoots everything with a simple fluidity. You can see what is going on, who is killing who, even though you are surrounded by blood and explosions. Finally, as the characters have been whittled down, we get a personal confrontation. One that reminds us what all this is for. It takes a lot of skill to make a lengthy action scene enjoyable for its duration. Especially when it goes from fun, to tense, to tragic, before it all comes to an end.
It's a film that really does come together. I was more than satisfied, and I felt that I had been escorted on a complete journey, whilst enjoying the sites.