Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril

These movies were infamous for their incredibly brutal and bloody swordplay sequences, but equally impressive IMHO was the leading actor- Tomisaburo Wakayama a.k.a. "Lone Wolf" was surely the greatest martial arts star ever. The command and authority with which he wielded a sword (and other weapons) was just phenomenal. The blade truly was an extension of himself, and his use of it was the definition of lethal, with none of the unnecessary/show-off flourishes so desperately thrown about by today's wannabes. He had incredible presence and charisma- easily on a par with the likes of say Eastwood or Bronson- with eyes that reflected pure death, and the desolation in his soul. There were moments in the "Babycart" series where you'd swear he was the personification of his namesake, the Wolf. You never doubted for one second that he WAS shogun executioner, masterless samurai, assassin for hire. One look at him in action, and you could readily understand why his enemies trembled at the mention of his name, and ran from him in sheer terror. Alas, Lone Wolf is one with void now, but his legend will live on forever in these films.

Forget Toshiro Mifune. Forget Takakura Ken. Forget Sonny Chiba. Forget Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, and any of those wire-reliant ballet dancers from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. And CERTAINLY forget any American martial artists that you could care to name. Tomisaburo Wakayama was, is, and forever shall be, THE MAN!

This is a beautifully made movie, the cinematography is to die for. In this installment of LW&C, Lone Wolf is hired to kill a rogue defector of a powerful clan, a formidable martial artist who happens to be a woman on a killing spree. Her body has been heavily tattooed to distract & shock her enemies. Itto's son Daigoro gets lost (this kid gets into more trouble) and is confronted by the only man ever to defeat Itto in a sword fight, Yagyu Gunbei, played by Yoichi Hayashi. He's a stone-cold & ruthless Ronin with a serious grudge against Itto. Needless to say there's a showdown between the two, and this is the highlight of the movie. In this scene it is twilight, and the cinematography is simply breathtaking. This movie is exceptionally clean, and is a real pleasure to watch. This movie and "Hades" are the top two LW&C films IMHO. Rent it or buy it, you will not be disappointed.

Another Lone Wolf and Cub film, another movie that does not take any prisoners. The story of our main character continues, but we start with a different character alltogether. And this woman is quite the killer ... literally. And she also is naked ... well from the waist up! But just to show her ... tattoos of course.

Kidding aside, if you are easily offended this and the amount of blood will quite do the job for you. Better not watch is what I'd say. Of course after that furious beginning there is some story and character things we have to go through. You can't have mayhem after mayhem ... well you could, but it works better that way. Some flashbacks too and all that coincides with that. Enjoyable if you can dig it

Number four in the series and a new director but the product is still well up to scratch. Not sure I would necessarily have noticed the change at the helm so seamlessly does this continue the theme but there is a little more stress upon the vulnerability both of the main protagonist and his cub. Fire also features here, with a blazing sword, whatever that might mean and an amazingly shot blazing field that surrounds the young cub. Elephant in the room here though is the tattooed lady. Absolutely magnificent designs front and back of the bare lady assassin and these are to have their desired affect in the combat to come, even if her bare breasts wouldn't be distracting enough. So, much as before with a little extra and wonderfully photographed throughout. The ending is not unlike that of the previous outing but even here just a little bit extra for our continued astonishment and pleasure.

The fourth in the long-running LONE WOLF & CUB series that so far shows no sign of flagging. BABY CART IN PERIL has everything that made the previous films so memorable: iconic characters, humour, sharply drawn personalities, a straightforward plot and battle sequences delivered with gusto. As with the last two films, this one features a memorable female warrior, in this case a woman covered in tattoos, who provides a more in-depth adversary for Ogami instead of his more cartoonish foes. The plot, as usual, details strands of honour and duty, while at the same time reintroducing Ogami's chief enemy, Lord Retsudo, who was noticeable absent in the last instalment.

There is a slight difference in the film-making which may be down to this film having a different director to the last. The style is perhaps more evident, and Ogami displays touches of emotion and weakness that seem slightly out of place. Nevertheless, the film is superbly shot and ably holds its down in what is turning out to be a superlative series. The vivid battle sequences are exceptional, with Ogami de-limbing inhuman foes in one stand-out sequence, as well as facing his most mortal threat – a gun-toting army – in the wildly exciting and vividly violent climax. Perhaps not the best in the series, this is still a cut above the rest.