You won't be disappointed!

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The original concept of this story is based on 1968 movie that was created by comic artist Shigeru Mizuki who single handedly started the genre of Yokai (Japanese folk lore monsters) based stories. In this version, along with Mizuki, writers Miyuki Miyabe, Natsuhiko Kyogoku, and Hiroshi Aramata contributed their creative talent to the story.Tadashi Ino (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is a wimp of a kid, but on the night of the town festival, he gets chosen to be the Kirin Rider. Kirin Rider has obligation to get the sword of Great Goblin from the mountain, and Tadashi embarks on a journey to the mountain where the Great Goblin resides. In the mountain Tadashi is met by Yokai monsters who were waiting for him. Covertly they chose him as Kirin Rider to battle the dark army of Yasunori Kato who is an embodiment of the grudge of ancient Japanese people. Together with Yokai, Tadashi faces the deadly army of Kato.The movie was a big budget movie ( approx. 14M USD ) for a Japanese movie, and uses effective balance between CG and live performers that helps to maintain the realistic looks throughout the story. Ryunosuke Kamiki puts in a great performance as the main character despite his age (of 10). The cast reads like who's who of popular Japanese actors, and writers Mizuki, Kyogoku, Aramata, and Miyabe all makes cameo appearance in this movie.This is probably the best movie Takashi Miike has directed, helped by solid script written by the aforementioned team of writers.This is one of the best fantasy movie to come out of Asia, and is entertaining to both children and adults.

What happens when director Takashi Miike (Audition, Ichi the Killer) tackles a children's fantasy film? Unfortunately, the end result is not as awesome as one might expect. The Great Yokai War is a reinterpretation of the Japanese monster classic Spook Warfare (1968) and, like its predecessor, features a host of creepy, and sometimes just plain goofy (I'm looking at you, umbrella monster), creatures from Japanese folklore. Ryunosuke Kamiki stars as the young hero Tadashi who squares off against the evil Lord Kato (Etsushi Toyokawa) and his twisted, but incredibly hot, henchwoman Agi, played by Chiaki Kuriyama (EXTE, Kill Bill: Vol. 1).Tadashi, the son of recent divorcées, moves from Tokyo to a seaside village to live with his mother and grandfather. In typical children's fantasy fashion, Tadashi lacks confidence. He finds it difficult to adapt to his new life and his heavy-drinking mother and dementia-suffering grandfather don't make it any easier. Everything changes when Tadashi is chosen by the Yokai to be the Kirin Rider, protector of all things good, at a local festival. He discovers that, as the Kirin Rider, he is destined to obtain the magic sword, Daitenguken, from the Great Tengu and protect the Yokai from the advances of Lord Kato and Agi.Meanwhile, we discover that Lord Kato has summoned Yomotsumono, a massive factory-like Yokai born from all the things that humans throw away. Lord Kato and Agi have also imprisoned several Yokai, including Tadashi's friend Sunekosuri, a cute hamster-like thing with a penchant for humping shins, and developed a method of absorbing their powers and, in the process, transforming them into rage-driven mechanized guardians. Accompanied by a small group of companions, Tadashi undertakes the quest to defeat Lord Kato and rescue Sunekosuri (and Tokyo) before it's too late.Although this sounds like a great premise for a children's film, in Japan at least, The Great Yokai War never quite reaches its full potential. I expected a bit more experimentation from Miike, especially given the weirdness of the source material. That's not to say that there aren't some great moments: an early scene in which a dying newborn Yokai warns a frightened witness of the coming war is both visually striking and establishes the rather dark nature of the film. Unfortunately, this destined war never quite materializes and, by the end of the film, things just start to seem goofy.Thematically, Miike tackles the human potential to discard things without a second thought and the detachment from the realm of nature and imagination that inevitably occurs as we grow older. All in all, this is a message that is more likely to resonate with adult viewers than with children, upon whom a lot of the underlying thematic subtleties of the film are probably lost. Adult viewers will find themselves wishing that Miike had explored this rather depressing subject matter as an adult fairytale, something more along the lines of Guillermo Del Toro's excellent Pan's Labyrinth, than within the constraints of a children's fantasy film.As it stands, The Great Yokai War has its moments and does boast great special effects and a horde of unique and interesting monsters. Unfortunately, it never quite succeeds as either a children's fantasy film or a Miike film. It never really establishes a sense of epicness in regard to Tadashi's quest, an element that is of utmost importance in this type of film. However, genre-wise it is much more akin to the mildly disturbing children's fantasy films of the '80s, like The Neverending Story, The Dark Crystal, and Return to Oz, than to other Miike works, like Audition, Visitor Q, and Ichi the Killer. Fans of the former will probably find a lot to like in The Great Yokai War, while fans of the latter will more than likely be a little disappointed.Gore Police (dreadfulreviews.com)

The plot of this movie isn't exactly new - young person is chosen for adventure, then faces various trials and tribulations. It's pretty much a staple of mythology in any culture. What makes it interesting is that it's based on Japanese mythology.Japanese mythology is literally one of the most colorful in the world. So a movie based on it really needs to be vivid to do that mythology justice. And here, this movie really succeeds. The various Yokai or goblins or critters are portrayed exceptionally well.Where it really doesn't work well is as a movie. It's difficult for children to be the main character of a movie, because frankly, children are obnoxious. It can be done. Unfortunately, that's not the case here, the main character in this is really obnoxious, very whiny and wimpish. I supposed it's supposed to make the viewer sympathetic, but he's just so wimpish, you are more likely to yell at him for being such a loser.I could excuse this if the movie were aimed at children, but I cannot believe it's meant for them, because it would scare the hell out of them. Even the nice Yokai are incredibly creepy and would give them nightmares for months, if not years. Also some scenes of graphic violence, and well, the secondary villain is incredibly sexy and is also perhaps not appropriate for children (might jump start boys into puberty).Also, like some of Miike's movies, this is drawn out too long in some parts, but then rush too much in others. Nice cinematography, though. Probably more enjoyable to just watch it with the sound off and just enjoy the visuals.

Now, I have seen a lot of movies in my day, but out of every single one there have been a very select few that have been really good to me. And I'm a 19 year old man which is impressed by this movie directed towards a younger audience. This is a very underrated gem for those who watch foreign movies. Almost all the acting is believable, the graphics are decent (for which you won't even be caring about as you watch the movie. Trust me, bitching about the graphics would be a stupid thing to do), the story is well written and it's a movie that everyone can enjoy not just the kids.Here's basically what this movie made me to. It one, made me laugh...a lot, two, made me feel for the characters like you're suppose to, and three, it's a very uplifting story. By the end of this movie you will feel good. Sure, what anime out there hasn't featured some young kid turning into a great warrior and whatever to defeat some great evil. It's a formula that is used a lot. But, in this case it is forgivable because even though they use puppets for some characters and some average graphics you'd see 5 years ago, the appearance of it is not to be judged. It's very touching, the ending is original, and it keeps you into the movie like it is suppose to. If you however try comparing this to other movies like "The Never-ending Story" or whatever it will diverse your opinion. Watch it as it is and you will enjoy it.It has been a good long while since I've been impressed like this. The only other movie where I have gotten this feeling is when I saw TMNT way back when it came out. There is something about this movie I felt about TMNT that really made me love it. So don't over-analyze or take this movie too seriously, just enjoy it.