Crazy Samurai Musashi

This works much better as a premise than it does in its execution...

Shockingly droning and low budget. The effects for each of the 500 plus kills, if even present, are poorly rendered CG blood. Rarely does even the swordplay beg appreciation. If I have anything good to say about this movie, it's an appreciation for the stamina of the lead, he clearly spent an hour of this exhausted. Yet, that's nothing compared to the stamina required to watch the whole thing without going crazy from boredom. It's very rare for me to have such an awful time with so much death.

The gimmick of one samurai facing hundreds in a single, unbroken shot is too good to be executed this poorly. It's an ambitious idea that simply doesn't work the way it was executed. There clearly wasn't enough preparation, communication, and general planning in place to execute such a complicated premise without it coming off as amateurish.

One mythic man against hundreds of samurai spawning -- same actors -- from time to time. Natural lighting, one-take shot and the amount of complex, extreme live staging -- along with precise makeup and CGI effects -- make this a pretty rewarding and exhausting experience. Gotta love how it even manages to take some time to spare -- some water, some dramatic closeups. I would lie if I said I found this totally engaging, but this is either way a truly unique take on action narrative.

Okay, this is quite an accomplishment (especially since Sakaguchi broke a finger and a tooth, and badly bruised a rib in the process), but is it a good idea? Mostly not. Is it worth watching? Maybe. I found it strangely meditative, and I'm glad I saw it, but more in the interest of sharing in some way in this incredible endurance test than actually being entertained.

All the budget went in to the first 8 and the last 5 minutes of the movie and it shows, horribly. i wanted to like this, but I can't express how dreadful it was to watch the same 10 or so people run around in a big circle and fight while bad cgi blood flies around.