Thirteen Assassins – Review

Eiichi Kudo’s “The Thirteen Assassins” is a very under seen samurai film that is now gaining interest and demand due to the recent Takashi Miike remake. The best way to define this overlooked film without detracting from it too much is that it learned and borrowed from the best of its genre, that doesn’t help its short with its execution. It’s a shame really as Kudo could have made a profound impact on the genre if he just could have sharpened this film up.

It all beings with a vassal of the Akashi clan committing seppuku in front of a daimyo’s house in protest of to his lord raping and killing a girl and her samurai husband. The scandal is quickly covered up as this lord happens to also be the Shogun’s younger brother. Making matters worse, this same lord is to be appointed to a higher political position which could easily turn sour for the Shogunate. Due to this, a decision is made; thirteen assassins will undertake the suicidal mission to murder him on his journey back to Edo.

If you want to picture the characterization, imagine Seven Samurai if you didn’t get to know or grow attached to its characters anywhere near as much. I suppose it’s somewhat of an unfair comparison as Kurosawa really achieved something remarkable (and created many of the archetypes) with the character development in his film but when you steal from the greatest, better make sure you stack up. You get the veteran leader, the (not as) badass swordsman, the guy in love, a country samurai and a few others who I can’t really describe because they aren’t defined at all. That being said, the first half of this film does do a pretty good job of the recruiting process and portraying the villains and the few characters you actually get to know. A film that gives a bit of credit to its villains? Gasp!

Editors Note: Trailer for the remake attached due to original footage not available

It’s a shame Kudo couldn’t get more from his characters as the lack of audience interest keeps the massive final battle sequence from transcending its boundaries. We don’t invest interest into whether or not anyone will survive and when that is paired with the sometimes sloppy and lackluster execution of the swordplay (Some will argue this is typical of the genre, that not only isn’t true but is a half-assed excuse) it really damages and lowers what could have been a true classic. If anything, this movie really made me regard Seven Samurai even higher for managing to so simply invest some emotion into its characters. That being said, I don’t mean to come across as portraying this movie poorly this film does have some good moments and they mainly all come about in the final sequences with some non-stop, solid action. All in all, this movie just really disappoints me. It’s definitely a prime candidate for a remake, many of the scenes have the potential to be truly great but so few of them achieve that higher potential. As it stands, it is more like a watered down Seven Samurai + 6. If Miike plays his cards better and learned from Kudo’s mistakes, he could have a classic in modern samurai cinema on his hands.