Dubbed the new pioneer of Japanese action, Ryuhei Kitamura follows up his deliciously exuberant low-budget action-comedy, Versus with the highly anticipated Azumi. Moving away from the zombies and mystical premises and into serious chanbara fare, Kitamura injects a rush of energy into the long-dead genre and what he leaves behind in humor and horror, he more than makes up for in well-choreographed fights and solid plotting.
The manga adapted film deals with Azumi, along with several other orphans raised as assassins and assigned to the task of eliminating rebellious leaders during the Tokugawa period. In order to prevent a civil war, this small group must figure out how to beat an entire army led by top fighters, while being whittled down one by one.
While Kitamura’s first big studio pic does not match the insanity of his indie success, Azumi manages to revive the genre by retaining his characteristic action sequences and excessive bloodletting. Fight scenes never grow tiresome and are well peppered into the narrative with intense build-ups and phenomenal instances of eye-catching cinematography. The film’s climactic battle even includes a dizzying 360 vertically panning cam that wraps around a plank where two characters clash swords.
Azumi also holds-over Kitamura’s love for quirky characters, especially in the form of three psychotic assassin partners and the androgynous white-clad adversary Bijomaru who enjoys combining his two loves: flowers and swordplay. The antagonists bask in their eccentricities and hardly require any development, but Azumi simply decides to avoid development of any of its characters and undercuts the importance of several scenes. Nevertheless, J-idol Aya Ueto is the star and the film livens up any time the focus shifts to her, even if her acting is occasionally spotty.
In spite of the occasional missteps, Kitamura makes one big step in the right direction, especially by clearing up his storytelling. Hopefully this work (coupled with the recent release of Kill Bill) will revive the genre pic with a new kinetic edge and more importantly, continue Kitamura on this path as Japan’s definitive action filmmaker.
Reviewed by Tarun
