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★★☆☆☆
5 November 2017
A movie review of BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL. |
“Spoken like a true villain,” Manji (Takuya Kimura)
There is no need for BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL to last two hours twenty minutes. The normal rule is the more, the better, but Takeshi Miike's 100th movie is an endurance test. Give me a four hour movie like HEAVEN'S GATE or 1900. These are epics earning the too-oft used epithet. Brimming with fascinating characters, political observations and sophisticated storyteller, more is more. No such elements fill Miike's fantasy samurai pic. Do we get insight into human nature? What about a mirror held up to society?
There is no need for BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL to last two hours twenty minutes. The normal rule is the more, the better, but Takeshi Miike's 100th movie is an endurance test. Give me a four hour movie like HEAVEN'S GATE or 1900. These are epics earning the too-oft used epithet. Brimming with fascinating characters, political observations and sophisticated storyteller, more is more. No such elements fill Miike's fantasy samurai pic. Do we get insight into human nature? What about a mirror held up to society?
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From the myth of Robin Hood to SEVEN SAMURAI, the average subject, chewed up by corrupt officials and bandits, looks to the bully of bullies to go outside the law to enforce the rule of law. As the wealth divide in modern society increases, and the volume of struggling feels helpless, such narratives remain in demand. They can be simple, yet elegant wish-fulfilment odysseys not addressing the causes, but providing a moment of cathartic respite.
“I’m afraid you’re not the only hero of a sad story,” observes a character. At least BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL offers up some slight shades of grey: Three leads who might be justified, to some degree, in their venomous, murderous rage. The immortal of the title is Manji, gifted/cursed by a witch with this power after his sister, Machi (Hana Sugisaki), is murdered. Bizarrely what keeps Manji alive are magic worms.
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Anotsu (Sôta Fukushi) is a formidable swordsman mercilessly slaying samurai who do not join his cause. One family is destroyed bar a girl, Rin (also played by Hana Sugisaki – meant to tug on Manji’s heart worms?). She is determined on revenge. It is a shame she lets Manji fight her battles, and not, say, become a badass like Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) in KICK-ASS.
But, ultimately, who cares about the fate of these charisma-less protagonists? It is a waste of the exorbitant runtime not to create compelling leads. At least Miike peoples his projects with nutty sadists – they are scary because they cannot be reasoned with - and is perhaps a metaphor for real world conscienceless right-wing politics?
Banal leads are not even the worst cinema crime here. How many times can you watch guys sliced with a sword? This is not KILL BILL VOL. 1, a benchmark of choreography and editing. Dozens upon dozens are offed in BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL, yet there is little variance. Editing is too fast to build a pulse-thumping rhythm. Even action movie junkies will be left unsatisfied.
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