Lord Naritsugu is set rule Japan one day. The first moment of veteran director Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins shows a samurai that decides to commit hari-kari than live in that kind of Japan. For Lord Naritsugu is a vicious sadist that regularly brutalizes his own people for enjoyment. He is protected by loyal Shogun samurai who follow their duty as warriors and protect their Lord no matter how evil he may be. However, when samurai Shinzaemon (played by Koji Yaskusho) is shown one of Narisugu's worst atrocities, he decides it will be his duty to take the evil Lord's life. Shinzaemon inlists the help of twelve other samurai's (they pick up number 13 later) to kill Naritsugu. These 13 Assassins must first go through Narisugu's army, which numbers about 200, before they can get him. 13 Assassins is a rousing adventure film punctuated by moments of shattering emotional weight. Director of photography Nobuyasu Kita gives us sharp, harsh and unforgettable images that burn hard into the brain. I will never forget a particular scene involving bulls and bundles of dynamite.
13 Assassins
“He who values his life dies a dogs death,” Shinzaemon tells his warriors before setting out to take Lord Naritsugu's life, a seemingly impossible mission. His men are recruited in a sequence that closely resembles Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, The Dirty Dozen, Inglorious Basterds and many other adventure men-on-a-mission films. Indeed, on paper the plot of 13 Assassins must seem especially similar to Akria Kurosawa's classic. The large difference between it and Miike's film is the absence of the good-natured John Wayne-esque machismo Kurosawa borrowed from his beloved American westerns. The stakes in 13 Assassins are real. The violence is harsh. The action does not go over the top. Samurai life is treated with grave seriousness.
Goro Inagaki is chilling as Lord Naritsugu, a villain detached from any sense of the pain he is causing. Naritsugu's sadism could easily be the same sadism being perpetrated by the leaders of any number of countries around the world today. We as viewers emotionally march on with the 13 Assassins as they cling to their samurai code, however hopeless their difficult mission against Lord Naritsugu's considerably skilled warriors may seem.
The big battle, which lasts roughly the final third of the film is a tour de force of rousing action. We get exciting pyrotechnics and intricately executed samurai duels that hit brutal emotional chords. The harsh price of this violence is unflinchingly shown. Yes, parts of 13 Assassins may feel like you've seen them before in other samurai films. You have. That matters little with a film this well done. It is more than welcome in current climate of action films overwhelmingly packed with dull CGI, banal characters, and simple comic book inspired concepts of right and wrong.
Unexpected Relevance
There's something Miike couldn't have anticipated that will be on audiences' minds while this team of samurai warriors willingly risk their own lives to dispatch with an evil noble. That's the similarity with the recent Navy SEAL operation that resulted in the death of the great mass-murdering sadist of our time, Osama Bin Laden. 13 Assassins relevance to this significant recent event leaves us with an added respect for the men who risk their lives and even their souls so that the rest of us need not be tainted by violence.
Overall rating: 3.5 stars out of 4.
Andrew Miller - Andy Miller
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