Good concept, poorly executed.

A Disappointing Continuation

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The movie is long and dull with no character development and a boring story. Yawn. I wont be watching the rest of the series.I give Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengence a 3/10

I'm not sure what it is with the Japanese and samurai films. There's nudity, there's lots of limbs getting slashed, lots of blood shed, sometimes spurting out like a fountain, sex, and lots of artistic cinematography for a genre that's not much more than a Japanese western, so to speak. That is to say just as there's a lot of Westerns that have pretty basic stories, but are also well shot and acted, so it is that Lone Wolf and Cub falls into the same realm in terms of pulp cinema, only it's swords instead of six-shooters, and of course it takes place in 19th century Japan instead of the old west (19th century USA).There's a ton of artistry that has gone into the shooting of these films. Shots are carefully staged, though by this time one gets the sense that the cinematic lexicon for Samurai films was less art and more science, or that is to say the people doing the actual shooting knew what shots to set up to accentuate emotions for given scenes. Having said that, the films are well put together, but it's only with this first film in the series that we get a sense of the main character's drive; i.e. who he is, what he is about, and what propels him forward. After this film it's more or less a series of adventure episodes that don't go beyond the Ottami character carrying out contracts, and dazzling the audience with katana theatrics. Still, you can't help but appreciate the spectacle that are these films, and the bluray transfer and restoration makes them look extreme vivid. The viewer can see imperfections in the actor's skin, the sweat as it beads down over acne or pours, the viewer can discern different fabrics and a whole host of visual detail that should enhance the viewing experience.The only down shot to the samurai genre is that it is rather cliché once you get past looking into the main character. For all the fights (sometimes just slaughter, some of which is almost cartoon- like in execution, it borders on being ridiculous, and might be given the right unappreciative audience), there's not much introspection as to why the conflicts are taking place. And this is where the "cliche factor" falls into place, for just as American westerns usually deal with outlaws, so are we too here given the Japanese version of the such. And then on top of that, unlike American westerns were sometimes the gunmen seem to have revolvers that never need to be reloaded, we get a samurai and his child taking on sometimes entire armies of swordsmen. The acting is typical over-the-top Japanese style, but works for what it is (mostly anyway), and the more prosaic or less theatrical fights where it's just the main character going against another swordsman, are okay. But the more super-human feats seem to push the films into the unbelievable category, and this comes from a guy who loves science fiction from the 1960s, where SFX technology was not at its peak.For me, well, I found the films interesting for what they are, but I can't say that I'm a fan of them. I'd heard about them over the years, and seen the Americanized version of the comic books (manga) here and there, and now having seen most of the films, and liking the samurai genre, I think I can say I see why they were such a big success in Japan, but I also see them as being borderline comical; i.e. almost falling into the "awe come-on" area of stretching or breaking suspension of disbelief.Still, if you're into samurai films, then maybe check first one out and see what you think.Give it a shot.

I found out about this movie after just getting into the whole Japanese Samurai Genre movies. I have to say that I absolutely love this movie it is one of the best and most iconic movies I have seen due to the fact that story and characters are highly likable and lovable the weapons each of the characters use are brilliant and the settings for each of the scenes make this movie a classic. the movie takes place probably in the 1700s where a ex shogunate executioner family is killed along with his local residence upon discovering this, he is met by the local authorities who are also ordered to kill him this results in him wondering the lands of japan with his toddler son, I wont give any more of the story away but I loved this movie and I highly recommend it to gore lovers.

I found the box set to this series and was filled with excitement upon watching this movie. Overall Sword of Vengeance by far is the best movie in the series. why because the fight scenes are timeless, way ahead of its time. the blood effects is brilliant, due to the fact Computer generation effects where not used back tin the early 70s when this movie was released. the movie is brilliantly directed. the script is brilliantly written and almost flawlessly executed by the actors and actresses. the characters in the movie are iconic and easy to remember. the story is also easy to understand. Anyone who is into foreign cinema and action I would love to recommend this movie to. the movie is superb.