In Japan during the feudal era, disgraced samurai Manji (Takuya Kimura) agrees to help young girl Rin (Hana Sugisaki) seek revenge against Anotsu Kagehisa (Sota Fukushi) and his Itto-ryu, a band of master fighters and killers. One samurai and a little girl may not seem like much against a veritable army of warriors, except that Manji has one distinct advantage: 50 years ago he was infected by "bloodworms" thanks to a mysterious priestess, and now he's seemingly immortal.

Ultra violent and with streaks of dark comedy running through it, this is an excellent samurai action film for those with a strong stomach for such mayhem. The performances are good, and I was very impressed with Hana Sugisaki as the vengeance seeking young Rin. There are lots of interesting costumes and characters, and although the movie runs nearly 2 and a half hours, that seems necessary to make room for all of the plot points. While most of the story is resolved by the end, some things are left unexplained, such as who or what the priestess is who wanders in and out of the story. That may be left for potential future installments, although as this proved to be a disappointment at the Japanese box office, any sequels look unlikely.

One of the major selling points of this movie is that it is the "100th film from director Takashi Miike." He's had an interesting, and obviously very prolific career, that in many ways matches the Japanese film industry of the last 25 years, with its many highs and lows. Due to the often shocking, offensive, and absurdist material in many of his films, critics both in Japan and elsewhere have been slow to warm to him. This latest movie has many of the classy touches of 13 Assassins, but with the added manga-inspired videogame qualities of many Japanese action films. I recommend it to fans of the samurai genre, but I don't know if it would win any new fans to the genre.

I mean it. Watch it. The almond eyed actors and actresses combine oriental mythology with some action and it is entertaining enough. The chick from Kill Bill here still looking slender and attractive and there is Rin and Makie too who are thin, pretty and have feminine hair. All pluses...

Manji is a samurai who was been cursed with immortality by a strange old woman who gave him blood worms after he was mortally wounded in a battle. These cause any wounds to quickly heal; even severed limbs can be reattached. Fifty years later he meets Rin Asano a girl who wants revenge on those who murdered her parents; he accepts her request for help. Her targets are Anotsu Kagehisa and his Itto-ryu school of samurai. One by one he hunts them down. Before they face Anotsu they will have numerous battles; often against overwhelming odds.

This, the hundredth film from Japanese director Takashi Miike, is based on a manga series of the same name which was previously turned into an anime series... I haven't read the manga but I've seen the anime a few times and think this compares well. Obviously it can't include as much but the story remains solid and there is plenty of action. This is quite violent but isn't disturbing; it certainly isn't anywhere near as extreme as some of his other works. The action is stylish and well shot; much of it taking place in impressively scenic locations. The cast is solid; most notably Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki and Sota Fukushi as Manji, Rin and Anotsu respectively. The characters are good; even the villain has an understandable motive for what he does. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of samurai films.

These comments are based on watching the film in Japanese with English subtitles.