Where the American west had its gunfighters, drifters and cowboys, Japan growing and developing as a nation over hundreds of years had samurais. Like their American counterparts, there is something elegant and simple about the life of a samurai. These men were typically of noble blood, taking an oath to do what was right and protect those who needed it in their travels across the country. Movies have idealized them and made them a thing of mythology the same way John Wayne or Clint Eastwood's gunmen have over the years. It's easy to see why. They held themselves to a higher standard, willing to fight and even die for what they believed in. Basically, in other words, don't piss them off.
The time is the 1840s in Japan, and the samurai culture is slowly dying away. A young lord, Naritsugu (Goro Inagaki), is poised to step into a powerful position with the Shogun rulers, but his cruel, vindictive and brutal ways have made many think that he is not the right person for the job. A wise and highly-respected samurai, Shinzaemon (Koji Yakusho), is approached and asked a simple question. Would he kill the evil lord before he can take power? Having seen some of Naritsugu's despicable actions, Shinzaemon agrees, knowing it may cost him his own life but bettering the lives of the people of Japan in the process. With help from an old friend, Kuranaga (Hiroki Matsukata), he goes about assembling a team of samurais to help in his mission. The odds are impossibly stacked against them, but Japan's well-being may be at stake.
As I've mentioned before with foreign movies, a lot of the time you just have to keep an open mind going in. Oh, no, subtitles! I have to read?!? I knew nothing about director Takashi Miike or his style, hadn't seen anything he directed, didn't recognize anyone from the cast. Sometimes not having any background is a good thing. Miike's style is straightforward, similar to Sam Peckinpah, Akira Kurosawa, and many other directors. His characters have a code they live by and are willing to die to uphold it. The movie is beautifully shot in washed out colors, the music moving as needed, and while it samples from other more well-known movies, it never feels like it is blatantly stealing...just borrowing. A more modern take on Kurosawa's Seven Samurai isn't a bad thing when handled the right way.
The biggest issue is that with 13 characters -- not to mention other lead and supporting parts -- you just aren't going to get much in the way of development. Some of the 13 assassins are introduced, and that's all we really get from them. The movie is 126 minutes as is right now (somewhat longer in other worldwide versions) and would have needed a couple more hours to actually let these characters develop and connect with an audience. Along with the two mentioned already, the ones that stand out include Shinrokuro (Takayuki Yamada), Shinzaemon's nephew who's turned his back on the life of a samurai, Hirayama (Tsuyoshi Ihara), the most skilled fighter among the group, Ogura (Masataka Kubota), a young, unproven samurai with all the ability, just not the experience, Sahara (Arata Furuta), a beaten-down fighter looking for some money for his actions, and Koyata (Yusuke Iseya), a woodsman who serves as the group's guide. As ridiculously cool as this group is, it would have been even cooler to see them as people, not just names. Still, the ones that do make an impression are nothing but positive.
What caught my eye reading a review of 13 Assassins was a claim of an hour-long action sequence. Not quite, but close. About an hour and 20 minutes is spent setting everything up, background, assembling of the team, setting up the ambush, and then BAM! We get a 36-minute action sequence without any breaks, just an orgy of explosions, death-raining arrows, bulls on fire (<---you read that right), and epic swordplay. The violence is gory and graphic but not in a way that's meant to shock you. Little CGI is used as the 13 assassins use a mountainside town to pull of their ambush, 13 men against a small army of 200-plus bodyguards.
This extended sequence is an action masterpiece, a thing of beauty that any action aficionado will be able to appreciate. This is where the sampling comes from, a blending of the final village showdown in 7 Samurai with the battle of Bloody Porch from The Wild Bunch. The action is fast and hard-hitting, the claustrophobic streets and alleys and shortcuts of the village serving as the ground for this epic battle. The streets literally run red with blood. It is truly one of the great action sequences I've ever seen, able to sustain its energy over 36 minutes. Think about how long that actually is. Eventually, the assassins are killed one by one (this is where some more background would have helped), their mission up in the air as to whether they will succeed. The aftermath as the camera surveys the carnage is a remarkable shot in its own right, a montage of all the dead warriors. I really liked the movie on the whole, but I LOVED the final battle, a sight to behold in film.
The movie of course is more than that. It is about honor, dignity, loyalty and at its most simple, doing what is right. These men are ready and willing to die in their mission. Shinzaemon finds himself against an old friend, Hanbei (Masachika Ichimura), past differences pushed aside. They fight not for revenge or glory, but because they've chosen their side and have come to terms with it. That is the simple beauty of the story. They fight because it is what they do and what they have chosen. The final shot of the movie is a memorable one, hope for the future regardless of the casualties sustained. The cost of maintaining and holding that belief may be costly, but they're ready to pay it. A great movie, one American audiences might not be familiar with but should definitely look into.
13 Assassins <---trailer (2010): *** 1/2 /****
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