Zatoichi in Desperation

A última cilada estreava há 50 anos no Japão. DARK. Os filmes do Zatoichi são muito divertidos, mas guardada as diferenças entre os diretores da série, são bastante formulaicos. Quando sua estrela resolve dirigir esse episódio ele não fica de brincadeira, tudo que fora elipse na série vem à tona e vemos as barbaridades que não eram direcionadas anteriormente e isso o faz um dos melhores filmes da então quase extinta saga. BlurayRip VXT.

Possibly the worst Zatoichi installment made. Much of it was shabby. Submitting to having his hands pierced then fighting afterwards was unsatisfying and stupid. A shameful treatment for a otherwise great legacy.

This can't be seen in isolation. It requires having viewed at least a handful of entries to become accustomed to the formula -- to then see it turned on its head. In isolation, Desperation is a rather vicious film. In context, it is the star of 24 films over ten years making his directorial mark. It is Katsu taking the reigns and saying "This. This is what it is to be Zatoichi."

Another of the darker ones; Ichi is just plain out for blood in this one. Aside from the tone, there isn't much that stands out here. Oh, aside from that one cumshot to the face. I'm pretty sure that's a first for this series.

Very hard to measure against the others, because for the first hour this is pretty boring (it has an entire sad sideplot that doesn't have anything to do with Zato at all, which is very weird). And then the final half hour might be the greatest thing in any of the Zatoichi movies, with stakes suddenly upped to a level where they have never been before in 23 movies.

Nice energetic visuals make this passable, but it is, as the consensus goes, the worst of the lot. Watch it for completion or skip it.

Doesn't stand up to the awesome precedent set by the earlier Zatoichi films, but it's still a fun way to spend an afternoon if you're into Katsu and his sword skills.