Takashi Miike’s latest film 13 Assassins, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year, may be his most mature work to date, but it’s also his most boring and restrained. After all, Miike rose to fame with films like Ichi the Killer and Audition, tales of sadism and torture so extreme, twisted and original, it’s hard for us to warm to other types of output from the guy. 13 Assassins is a straightforward samurai tale concerning integrity, devotion, self-sacrifice and loyalty; all the things these warriors aspire to. This is not to say that the film renounces violence. There is a battle scene that lasts the film’s final 50 minutes which is really worth the wait—no matter how arduous the rest of the journey is.
The 140-minute epic begins with Lord Naritsugu (Goro Inagaki), a ruthless tyrant who has no scruples about subjecting a Japanese village to his vicious rule. He cuts off the limbs of people, pierces them with arrows and slices some in half whenever he feels like it (the only gory bits in the film, so try not to miss the first 15 minutes). The current Shogun of Japan (leader of the Shogunate which is the Japanese government), is becoming wary of Naritsugu’s sadistic characteristics and if Naritsugu doesn’t quit his evil tendencies Japan could lose its peaceful order.
On Narisugu’s case is Sir Doi (Masachika Ichimura), who holds a high position to the Shogun and calls upon the aged samurai master Shinzaemon (Koji Yakusho). He informs Shinzaemon of the travesties occurring within the grounds that are controlled by Naritsugu. Disgusted, Shinzaemon graciously accepts what Sir Doi wants of him: To kill Naritsugu and ensure Japan’s continual peace. Soon Shinzaemon goes on a search to find the greatest warriors known to him to achieve the task at hand, and before the battle cry, Sir Doi manages to gather 13 so-called assassins.
The film is coherent and enthusiastic in its infatuation with bloody violence, all while maintaining an artistically composed countenance, although it takes far too long before we get to the film’s grand finale. Like all epics, characters are introduced one by one to give the film more depth, although by the time we get to Samurai No. 10, the dialogue’s a bit convoluted. Miike tries his best to add some eccentricities to some characters, like the immortal jungle boy Koyata (Yusuke Isaya) who can withstand any pain and weapons, but his is a character that is out of sync with the film’s overall somber and serious tone. Still, 13 Assassins is an extremely well-made and respectable film, with shades of Akira Kurosawa, and its compelling portrayal of men fighting with honor and dedicating themselves to a higher meaning is more than respectable.