Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

That was an excellent one.

Good concept, poorly executed.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Great movie with a good story. When it starts, pay attention and the subtitles help if you can stand them. I personally love them because it tells who is speaking, what sounds are heard and you capture the whole story as well. The beginning sets up the rest of the movie. We are introduced to a man that is pure terror and evil practicing his whim and want on anyone, anywhere at any time all bad and perverted as well as murderous. You have no trouble hating this guy and then at some point, are repulsed by him. It makes you want to join the "13" in the movie and make it "14" no problem who just want to kill this guy slowly I might add. He does some gut-wrenching deeds so be ready. The recruiting of the 13 is good to watch as they all offer something and everyone offers a vow to fight to the finish. Great scenes on setting up the decent battle to come of a few against the many. They take over a town and do some nice little moves in it to even the odds. These Assassins fight a good fight and keep in mind, a Samurai is an exceptional swordsman who can cut off any part of your body within a quarter part of a second cleanly I might add. These boys just go at it swinging their swords until they are exhausted making the point that it is not over until it is over and when that will be who knows. Nice build-up to the ending with closure and I might add I found myself tired as if I was doing the fighting and so will you. Recommend a nice snack or some pumpkin or sunflower seeds to keep your hands busy plus a tasty drink of choice. To see good fighters fight until the end is worth a watch and to see them fight for a cause is a must see. Kudos to the actors and the Director for pulling this off. Prepare for battle!

Lately I have become interested in samurai films, so I have been watching quite a lot of them - from the entertaining Lone Wolf series to the Kurosawa classics, with the late legend Toshiro Mifune. Those old movies are great but they lack in good resolution and better color. So I came across this Japanese film "13 Assassins" filmed in 2010. Recent stuff, sounded interesting. So I watched it - very good production, with a stellar cast including a member of the Japanese band SMAP who plays the bad guy. The problem starts with the plot. It's the old "small group of brave samurai against bad guy with army in larger number" just like Seven Samurai, The Last Samurai and 47 Ronin. Here, the 13 assassins are gathered to fight a sadistic lord. Despite the fact that the plot is more of the same, this is a post-Hollywood, post-video game samurai movie. It has all the action, sound effects and visuals of the blockbusters, including bombs and boars on fire (yes)... and gore, lots of gore. It has disturbing scenes, like the amputated woman and even a non-explicit homosexual intercourse. The biggest problem for me is that the guy who hired the 13 samurai to kill the lord Naritsugu actually had the opportunity to finish the job at the bridge. He had his fellows pointing their guns to him (but that would make the film end at the 1 hour mark.) Anyway, this is entertainment for the young audiences, craving some ketchup. Great production but lacking substance.

It's Feudal Japan. Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira is a cruel master and also a rising star. Shinza is convinced to assassinate Naritsugu and he recruits 11 samurais. They plan to ambush him on his trip back to the Akashi land. The men get lost in the mountains and meet hunter Kiga Koyata. The 13 assassins fight overwhelming odds after converting the town of Ochiai into a fortress.It's a samurai movie with big action and a solid story. The story is well laid out although I would have preferred it to be snappier. Samurai movies do have a lot of ponderous expositions. The lady with no arms is creepy. Also some of the assassins don't get enough screen time. There are 13 of them. However it doesn't get better than the big giant samurai battle in the last act.

"13 Assassins" is an epic battle of good versus evil, with the stakes as high as they could possibly be. You've got a group of rag-tag heroes pitted against a villain so diabolical every cell in your being wants to see him killed. Don't think that means he's a cartoon though, because what really makes this movie something special for me is that while the film is grandiose and epic, it's never so outlandish that it feels like a fantasy film. The climax is nothing short of incredible. It grabs you, pumps up the stakes as high as they can get and never lets go until the credits start rolling. It's a sure hit for anyone who loves Samurai movies or any film where the underdog stand to lose everything but decide to take the chance anyway. One note though, when you watch the movie have your remote ready during the first few scenes because with the subtitles being at the bottom of the screen at the same time as some crucial written information being displayed, you have to pause the movie in order to get all of the little bits of information and the names memorized. If that sounds like extra work, you won't even mind after seeing the explosive action contained within this truly legendary battle. (Original Language with subtitles on DVD, January 2012)