13 Assassins Review

To state that 13 assassins is nothing but a poor man Seven Samurai is to sell it totally short. It may not be as original or as well scripted as Kurosawa’s samurai epic, but what it lacks in originality, it makes up in pure intensity and passion. A must see.

Not knowing anything about a film before you go into it is always a pleasure (a fact I reflect on rather ironically as someone who reviews films for others...) Going into 13 assassins, I expected something totally different than what I got; a throw away action film with some samurai trimmings, akin to many other recent samurai based films. Instead what I got was a serious drama, one that takes it source material with upmost respect and discipline, but one that does so with such pure passion, that it simply can’t be over looked. If nothing else, it praises the work of Kurosawa’s most famous film to the greatest extent.

It’s 1844 and Japan is in peace. However, Lord Nartisugu (Goro Inagaki), a nasty and evil man (as demonstrated brutally within the opening scenes) is brother to the current Shogun and hence heir to the throne and many begin to worry of the turmoil he will cause once he attains higher power. This is felt most of all by Sir Doi (Mikijiro Hira), who hires Shinzaemon (Koji Yakusho), a aging samurai, to kill the ruthless and reckless Lord. From here, in a fashion closely resembling Seven Samuari, Shinzaemon collects up a group of 11 samurai, namely his nephew Shinroukuro (Takayuki Yamada), the skilled Ronin Kujuro (Tsuyoshi Ihara), Shinzaemon’s second in command Saheita (Hiroki matsukata), the spear wealding Heizo (Arata Furuta) and Shoujiro (Masataka Kubota) , a young samurai. After grouping together they decide to ambush Lord Nartisugu as he travels home from Edo. On route they pick up their final assassin, the scruffy mountain hunter Koyata (Yusuke Iseya), and lie in ambush for him, leading to one of the longest, yet most intense battle sequences I have seen in a long time.

At its heart 13 assassins is very much a slow burn, a steady rise to a great crescendo, and in that respect it may put some off. For me though, this slow build up helped build both the characters, good and bad, and the story, as well as had me chomping at the bit for the action which was inevitably to come; and when it came, boy did it come! When the samurai swords start swinging they do not stop, leaving behind nearly 50 minutes (!!!) of some of the most intense action you will see in cinema. What most impressed me of the action was how gritty, dirty and intensely real it felt, something that is lost in many recent films who trade in reality for over the top and exaggerated CGI fight sequences. There is just something much more compelling and exciting about combat so simple, yet well shot. That is not to say that the fights aren’t well choreographed, they are, though in a way that doesn’t seem too scripted; our heroes will take down their foes with brutal efficiency, but reflect the brutal reality of war when they turn to using rocks or even their fists to survive. At every moment it feels as if our heroes are on the edge of death, and when they meet their end, it seems painful and real – adding the its impact. That is not to say that 13 assassins doesn’t take some liberties, after all, its whole premise is 13 men against an army (of hundreds), and obviously our great samurai are taking on far too many men at once to be truly possible, and also in some cases, when one of our heroes falls, others will react to it, exclaiming their anguish, while the enemy stand idly by until they wish to fight again, reminding you that it is, afterall, a film. Takashi Miike (Director) also throws in a few tricks and traps which seem slightly unrealistic, such as flaming bulls, or great walls of wood which seem to spring up from nowhere to trap their foes. But as the final one on one conflict shows, Miike obviously understands the impact of simple yet realistic combat with its final scene reflecting in many ways the way Kurosawa portrayed such events, such that fight scene in Sanjuro. Perhaps my only real criticism is that in the intensity of the fighting and the quick cuts it is difficult to make out who of our heroes is fighting, especially for those which are the lesser characters of the 13.

That is not to say though those 13 assassins is only one great fight scene and 90 minutes of setup. Obviously the nature of the plot means that the film is extremely top heavy in terms of drama and character development while scarce of action, but this section is still compelling, in different ways. Miike really manages to create hatred within the viewer Lord Nartisugu through a number of quick, yet brutal scenes, some which I found rather uncomfortable, but in a way that aided the story.

Though the characters, many of which seem to be riffs off of characters from Kurasawa’s epic, are not as defined and notable as they are in that film (a fact that is compounded by the fact that there are simply so many of them), they still retain some might, especially Shinzaemon, who is both likable yet deadly and Koyata, the quirky mountain hunter with shadows of Toshiro Mifune's character from Seven Samurai

My only main criticism of the first quarter of the film is that Miiike throws a lot at the viewer, namely a great raft of characters as well as a number of clan names which are rather over bearing at first and can lead to some confusion about what is actually going on – though once Shinzaemon and his party is put together this problem is done away with mostly. There was obviously recognition of the complexity of the initial scenes and hence stylistic notifications are added to state who people are, especially those characters who do not return later in the film, though sometimes it was difficult to keep up with else as well as follow the subtitles, some which moved rather quickly.

In the end though, despite these criticisms, 13 assassins is a great film and I highly recommend it to any of those who like anything historical and those who are fans of some classic samurai action. The subtitling and slow nature of the opening part of the film may be enough to put some people off, but if you can stick with it, you will be heavily rewarded. I don’t think anyone could have done homage to the classic jidaigeki films, especially those of Kurosawa, any better.