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karateluke2000
Reviews
Ichi (2008)
Just Angry at this film. *Spoilers*
I hate this film, It is really one of the worst Asian films I have ever seen. Now everyone who has heard of Zatoichi or seen even some of his films or episodes,then you know how the story goes. Me personally I only saw the last movie with the original actor and the 2003 adaptation so I am not biased in the least. Now some people are either giving it flack or praise for casting a female lead. To me I don't care in the slightest. Haruka Ayase is really good in this role as Ichi and she comes in and slices and dices her foes as expected.
Then comes in the secondary character, the buffoon Fujihara who likes to run to the rescue, but can't draw his sword because when he was little he swung his sword, broke the tip of said sword, which flew across the court yard while his mother who happened to be passing through who gets slashed across the eyes blinding her. This is which in turn makes him unable to draw his sword. You honestly would think you were watching a Final Destination film. And you know what it didn't bother me until he starts lecturing Ichi on stepping up and saving lives and that is when he the film goes down hill. This man claimed he stepped in to help, yet if Ichi wasn't around he would have been killed along with the hooker.
Now I don't know if the director is a chauvinist, but if you have movie, named Ichi, and the lead actress is named Ichi and if her picture is posted on covers, trailers and posters, then why doesn't she play second fiddle to the buffoon? I mean seriously, the girl is badass, she's tough and you like her, but after one confrontation with the big boss (another problem with this movie) the buffoon suddenly realizes he is an ass and takes out the bad guy in a few strokes? Isn't she the star, shouldn't she have the chance to redeem herself as so many other characters do in movies like this? Instead they make her contemplate life and gets saved by a man and cry!
This is the kinda crap that gets me with movies and shows in general. They build up these characters and make them larger than life, but for reasons that defy me, they add a little dose of "realism" and make the character fall into a generic stereotype. Its like making The Bride in Kill Bill find her daughter midway through the film and she spends the rest of the film dodging assassins and panicking like a concerned mother. Didn't this character mow down dozens of bad guys in the previous films? It doesn't follow the same tone.
If you want to watch this movie for Haruka Ayase's looks and acting ability, just remember; there are two little things called youtube and google and you can watch her anytime you want instead of shelling out twenty dollars on this movie. Skip this movie!