Blade Of The Immortal (2017) - A Review

 

Takashi Miike directs another awesome movie.

Blade Of The Immortal is a samurai/action movie released in Japan in 2017, starring  Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sota Fukushi, Ichikawa Danjūrō XIII, Erika Toda, Chiaki Kuriyama, and Hayato Ichihara. It was directed by Takashi Miike (in what was advertised as his 100th movie), and is based on the manga, Blade Of The Immortal by Hiroaki Samura.

Takuya Kimura as Manji.

In Blade Of The Immortal, Takuya Kimura plays Manji, a swordsman on the run from the government and who is taking care of his mentally ill sister. A group of ronin capture his sister to lure Manji into a battle to collect the bounty on his head. The ronin do not keep their promise (you'll see what I'm talking about), so Manji fights and kills all of them, getting mortally wounded in the process. A mysterious old woman comes to Manji as he is dying, and he asks her to finish him off. Instead, she puts 'blood worms' into his wound, which begin to heal him...

Hana Sugisaki as Rin Asano.

Fifty two years later, a young girl named Rin Asano (played by Hana Sugisaki) witnesses her father being murdered and her mother being attacked and taken by Kagehisa Anotsu (played by Sota Fukushi) and his Ittō-ryū members. Rin promises on her father's grave to get revenge for his death and to find her mother. She eventually decides to hire Manji, who is now immortal, to kill the Ittō-ryū members and to be her bodyguard. Rin reminds Manji of his sister, so he naturally feels protective of her.

As Manji kills off Ittō-ryū members, this captures the attention of Kagehisa and his cohorts. They find out Manji is immortal, which makes him an even bigger target. Kagehisa wants the Ittō-ryū to become part of the shogunate, which their leader agrees to. Meanwhile, Manji and Rin agree to team up with another group to take down Kagehisa and the Ittō-ryū. Betrayals happen, and Rin also decides to take down Kagehisa by herself. An all out battle occurs between Manji, Kagehisa, and other groups! Will Rin finally get revenge?

Sota Fukushi as Kagehisa Anotsu (middle) with the Ittō-ryū.

Blade Of The Immortal is a pretty faithful adaptation of the manga, though the overall plot (the manga was 30 volumes) had to be condensed to fit into a two hour and twenty minute movie. The manga's author was satisfied with this movie, which says a lot about the director, Takashi Miike, and the quality of this movie. It is a great movie! Interesting plot, interesting characters, and awesome action. Takuya Kimura is excellent as Manji, a disgraced samurai who has been cursed with immortality. Though he is the hero, he is a killer. He does have a moral code, though, and he has justified reasons for killing his opponents. Though there is a darkness to Manji, he is still likable and easy to root for. Hana Sugisaki as Rin Asano is a driven young woman; she is a diligent martial artist who wants to use her skill to kill Kagehisa Anotsu. Even though she is strong, she is still vulnerable. She isn't strong enough to defeat Kagehisa yet, and she is highly emotional when it comes to Manji. Rin and Manji's relationship is interesting to watch unfold. Sota Fukushi as Kagehisa Anotsu is a complicated villain. You think he is pure evil, but you find out he has reasons for what he is doing. Still, what he did to Rin's parents was inexcusable (in my view), so he gained very little sympathy from me.

There is a lot of action in Blade Of The Immortal, and it is bloody and violent!

  There is a lot of action in Blade Of The Immortal! For some reason, I was not expecting that much action in this, but I was pleasantly surprised with how much action there is. A majority of the action is sword and weapons-based, and it is violent and bloody. There is a lot of blood spraying and limbs flying! The fights are very good, and some fights (especially the end battle) last a good, long time. Though Manji is immortal (he does get limbs cut off in battle), he is not impervious to pain. He suffers through his battles, and he has to recover after them. In his final battle, it does look like he has a chance of dying, so you are on the edge of your seat during that whole sequence. The fight scenes may not have that Hong Kong choreography, but they are still highly entertaining and exciting. Another cool thing about the movie and the fight scenes are that all of the major characters have different weapons that they use. Really adds to the action!

As you can imagine, I highly recommend Blade Of The Immortal. It really is a good movie, with a deeper than it seems plot, interesting characters, and awesome fight scenes. The cinematography is great, as well as the soundtrack (the ending theme is amazing). After watching Blade Of The Immortal, I am very interested in reading the manga! This is a manga-to-live action movie adaptation done right. Takashi Miike is truly a master at his craft.

Reviewed by David Williams