release year: 1972
genre: samurai
viewing setting: home DVD, 5/2/00
what I expected: wasn't sure
what I got: pretty easily-followed (for a change) samurai-type movie
synopsis: The Shogun's top executioner is framed and his wife is killed, so he roams the land in search of revenge, toting along his tiny son in a cart full of hidden blades and guns.
impressions: Pretty straightforward and easy to follow, which was important to me. I also liked the excessive blood and the fight scenes. I also enjoyed certain Eastern-style moments such as Ogami making his infant son choose between the ball and the sword and Ogami choosing revenge over tradition/orders, laughing at the people he's about to kill. Note that this was the first in a series of six.
acting: Decent, though I'm probably missing something due to the language & culture barrier. The actor who played Ogami really conveyed a sense of being easily able to kill anyone he wanted to...a confident aura, if you will, despite his unimposing physical appearance.
more in-depth review: Stomp Tokyo
final word: To me, one of the few watchable movies of this sort.
rating: C+