Legend of the Eight Samurai

The horrendous level of mumbo-jumbo in the story is insufferable. If you can wade through the absolute nonsense to the fighting scenes, you are poorly rewarded with chaotic fight, confusing match-ups and awful music. And of course more supernatural garbage and poorly done big rubber monsters. The more I think about the garbage in this movie the more I dislike it. Pretty much nothing was done well except for the destruction of the temple at the end.

Traditional Japanese legend with 80's flare. It took me a while to get into the story, but by the time possessed Shinbei got into the fight with 7 samurai I was hooked. The 80's flare I mentioned consists of corny story (anime-like), lush sets (villains' crib has a pool of blood in it for skinny dipping), terrible english pop songs (that 5 minute make-out scene: I don't want this night to end Don't say goodbye Just hold me close, my darling - oh boy).

Bad pacing and editing make this fall short of greatness, but it still remains a must-watch for the wall-to-wall corny fun. It also serves as a worthy continuation of the thematic line running through Shogun's Samurai and Makai Tensho. This movie has possibly the most batshit insane backstory in film history, and the insanity only builds from there. The most insane part comes when you, the viewer, realize near the end that this movie inspired Power Rangers and about half the Final Fantasy games.

A lot of fun, though it drags at times.

Cheesy as heck but I liked it.