49
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxFeatures more than enough thrilling wirework, slow and agonizing deaths, and blood-spattered faces to please even the most discriminating fans of the genre.
- 50Film ThreatEric CamposFilm ThreatEric CamposA little boring and extremely long for what it is, all that Azumi really has going for it are several eye-popping battle sequences, including the climax which is a totally delicious celebration of graphic violence, and some nice camera work.
- 50VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibInevitable comparisons to Quentin Tarentino's femme-centered carnage extravaganza "Kill Bill" are not unwarranted insofar as both films featurefeature an abstract, self-conscious, and decidedly post-modern approach to a moribund genre.
- 50New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanIt's a bad idea to get too fond of any character, no matter how worthy he (or she) may appear.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckUnfortunately, the film itself -- though it contains some superbly staged and highly lavish action sequences -- lacks the tautness of its heroine.
- An uneven effort overall that when it is working has a strange, engaging energy that is often overturned by an uncertain staidness.
- 40The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisThe director, Ryuhei Kitamura, whose earlier films include the cult film "Versus," brings nothing new to the samurai-swordsman game other than some styling shorts for the whelps and a miniskirt for Azumi.
- 40L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyFailing in its attempts at Zhang Yimou–like poetry, Azumi calls to mind a long, blood-splattered director's cut of a Power Rangers episode.
- 38New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoThe story is superficial at best. And the movie is too long.
- 30Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonVillage VoiceMichael AtkinsonIf you're considering the scenario via Japan's ubiquitous pedo-porn tendencies, you're too educated for this exhaustive, manga-based bloodbath, which trails after these angsty teenyboppers on a scorched-fake-earth path through hundreds of growling baddies of every genre size and type.