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13 Assassins



Initial release: 25 September 2010 (Japan)


Director: Takashi Miike

Language: Japanese

13 Assassins is one of those remakes which stood close to the original in every perspective and delivered exactly what we expect from a Samurai movie.

The plot is set in 1844 (Edo) concentrating on Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira and his cruelties. If not for his human form, Naritsugu would've been a literal wild beast! He raped and killed his own subjects using the privilege of being the Shogun's half brother. The movie starts with a Feudal lord committing Harakiri after losing his entire family to Naritsugu's savagery. Shogun's minister Doi Toshitsura took this matter seriously and decided to asassinate Naritsugu to prevent his promotion to Shogun's council. He transfers this burden to Shimada Shinzaemon, who once served the previous Shogun and above all, the only one Doi could trust to complete the task.

The movie starts out slowly as it carefully build the characters and their motives which payed off well in the action packed second half. The sheer brutality in the action choreography is a huge plus point to the narrative itself. The movie never holds back as it move foward with the Katanas splashing blood all over the place. It is also worth noting that they took enough time to develop the characters further, amidst the seemingly never ending chaos, which brilliantly placed the emotional elements in the right place, at the right time.

13 assassins will surely please those who love well placed action set pieces and is a must watch for the ones who crave Samurai cinema. 

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