How cruel a lord? So cruel that he kills the family of one of his samurai who commits harikari in front of the palace. So cruel that he keeps the daughter of the leader of a peasant uprising as a sexual plaything. She had her arms, legs, and tongue cut off.
The samurai are charged with the assassination mission by a senior government official. So this isn’t necessarily a rogue mission here.
The story centers around Shimada Shinzaemon, the leader of the assassins, as he gathers the assassins and prepares to make his move. His rival is Hanbei, a noble samurai who remains dedicated to Lord Naritsugu despite witnessing the lord killing his son.
13 Assassins is bloody and brutal. The main character, Shinzaemon, is a darkly jolly fellow. His nephew, a gambler and womanizer with a noble soul. Most of the 13 are quickly sketched. I admit that I often didn’t know who was who after they were covered in gore. There are many other characters, however, that you can barely tell apart. They are glossed over and lack any sort of personality.
There is a lot of dark humor in this film.
The climatic battle is intense. The fights are swift, and the 13 are not invincible. Only almost so! Thirteen people taking out over 200? It makes for nice action, but such a battle is generally eye rolling with how super human the heroes are.
The sets and costumes are believable. The sets in particular are convey a sense of gritty realism to the film. There is a lot of mud and contrast between the rural areas and the cities.
13 Assassins is something to check out if you like epics and don’t mind violence. It isn’t as gory as most American shock films are now. You won’t see entrails being spilled on the ground or anything. The movie has the feel of classic period epics. The movie does use CGI, but it is barely noticeable. It isn’t a great film by any means. It is an entertaining, if violent, film that captures some of the feel of the time period it tries to portray.
