Crappy film
... View MoreA movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
... View MoreAll of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
... View MoreYes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.
... View MoreNotably less bloodspray and vengeanceThe Female Boss of a brothel hires Lone Wolf to kill Sawatari , a man whom sold out the Domain to the Shogunate for personal profit and false position as new governor. Along the way he saves an innocent village girl sold into prostitution, and befriends a samurai-turned-mercenary.Final battle features Ogami vs 50 man army
... View MoreThis series has its ups and occasional downs, and the latter is the case, here. There's an agreeable amount of spatter, with an inventive implementation of the Baby Cart's weapons, but the editing film is a seriously disjointed, the film-making itself rougher than usual. At times, the action slows to a crawl as the camera follows the wordless wanderings of the "cub," who nearly gets lost early on. All in all, disappointment.That said, there's a spaghetti eastern quality to the music and action that may win the approval of dedicated viewers. This installment spends much of its time following the minor misadventures of the little boy, who begins to stare into the abyss of death his father opened for him.
... View MoreAs far as I am concerned, the entire "Kozure Ôkami" ("Lone Wolf And Cub")cycle starring Tomisaburo Wakayama is as magnificent as cinema can get, and it is films like these that make me a cinema lover. The third entry to cycle, "Kozure Ôkami: Shinikazeni mukau ubaguruma" aka. "Lone Wolf And Cub: Baby Cart To Hades" is not my favorite of the Ôkami films, more precisely it is probably my least of the six, and yet it is an utterly ingenious film, that I couldn't possibly bear to give it a rating lower than a well-deserved 10 out of 10. Apart from the stunning violent bloodshed, fascinating philosophy, beautiful photography and countless other ingenious qualities, the arguably most brilliant aspect of the "Ôkami" films is the portrayal of the father-son relationship between Ôgami Itto and his son Daigoro, and its depiction once again deepens in this film.Ôgami Itto (Tomisaburo Wakayama) is still following the 'path to hell' with his only son Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa) in order to avenge his wife's death and clear his name. On their way through 17th century Japan, the father and son are once again confronted with a vast number of enemies (above all the Yagyu-clan), and the 'Lone Wolf with child' is once again hired as an assassin (as always for 500 Ryu). Ôgami Itto, my personal favorite (anti-)hero character EVER in cinema, is, as always, completely fearless and almost invincible. Not only is he fearless in battle, and following a strict moral code when walking his way of vengeance, however. In this third entry to the cycle, he is also more selfless than in the other parts. He voluntarily submits to torture, for example, in order to help out a prostitute to be... His son Daigoro, who is of equal importance to the series, and an equally great character grows a bit with every one of the movies, and occasionally actively engages in battle. The baby cart, in which Daigoro sits most of the time, has even more secret weapons and gadgets than in the foregoing films.As I stated above, this is not my favorite film in the cycle. There are several historical inaccuracies (there is a warrior who has two six-shooters, which are 200 years too early since the film is set in the 1600s), but these inaccuracies cannot really bother, since the other parts are not exactly 'realistic' either. Tomisaburo Wakayama is once again outstanding in his role and so is Akihiro Tomikawa in the role of Daigoro, positively the coolest child-role in motion picture history. The stylish swordplay and battle sequences are once again excessively bloody, and while the first two parts were equally violent in their depiction of blood-soaked carnage, the death toll rises to enormous numbers from the third part forth. The film is once again excellently photographed on beautiful and fascinating locations, the camera-work is simply fantastic and the score is as cool as in all parts. The entire "Kozure Okami"-cycle ranges high among my all-time favorites, and even though this third part is my least favorite entry to this brilliant cycle, it is an absolute must-see! Not to be missed!
... View MoreThese movies were infamous for their incredibly brutal and bloody swordplay sequences, but equally impressive IMHO was the leading actor- Tomisaburo Wakayama a.k.a. "Lone Wolf" was surely the greatest martial arts star ever. The command and authority with which he wielded a sword (and other weapons) was just phenomenal. The blade truly was an extension of himself, and his use of it was the definition of lethal, with none of the unnecessary/show-off flourishes so desperately thrown about by today's wannabes. He had incredible presence and charisma- easily on a par with the likes of say Eastwood or Bronson- with eyes that reflected pure death, and the desolation in his soul. There were moments in the "Babycart" series where you'd swear he was the personification of his namesake, the Wolf. You never doubted for one second that he WAS shogun executioner, masterless samurai, assassin for hire. One look at him in action, and you could readily understand why his enemies trembled at the mention of his name, and ran from him in sheer terror. Alas, Lone Wolf is one with void now, but his legend will live on forever in these films. Forget Toshiro Mifune. Forget Takakura Ken. Forget Sonny Chiba. Forget Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, and any of those wire-reliant ballet dancers from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. And CERTAINLY forget any American martial artists that you could care to name. Tomisaburo Wakayama was, is, and forever shall be, THE MAN!
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