Kamui Gaiden

"No matter how much we fight it, we can't never be human."

Two things hurt Kamui Gaiden pretty badly, in my eyes. A wretchedly bad subtitle job that makes the story practically incomprehensible at times, and some very poorly done special effects and CGI that make every action sequence look fake. 

Even these flaws could be somewhat ignored if Kamui shined in other areas, and thankfully, it does manage a glimmer or two. After the poorly told back-story is out of the way, the plot settles down into a more straightforward tale. The fights still aren't all that amazing and the special effects are still just as conspicuous, but the story of Kamui does strike a few chords as he tries to escape from his past and meets people who he starts to care for, and who are put in danger by the runaway ninja's very presence. 

Check this out if you're starved for some ninja action, but Kamui Gaiden is not a masterpiece by any definition.

After reading the other (positive) reviews, I am still unclear what redeeming qualities this film (purportedly) has. I am particularly boggled by the fact that some of the previous reviewers argued that the film was worth a watch or even deserved to be considered a "classic" (really?) without supplying any explanations or actual reasons, nor provide a comparison between this film and other films in the same genre (although, in what genre would this film really belong? 'Trashbin flicks'?). In fact, I wonder if we actually sat through the same film.

To provide a quick synopsis, the film has a premise (a rogue ninja hunted by other ninjas, trying to find a 'safe harbour'), but no plot. The story meanders through a series of cliché scenes with predictable outcomes, occasionally interrupted by people flying on wires performing 'special moves' that needed a narrator's help to explain (I guess if you like being treated as an idiot, this film might be for you...), ridiculous twists with nonsensical motivations, and animal cruelty that even I--someone not anything close to being a card-carrying member of PETA--found rather distasteful.

At some point, the only way to rationalize why we continue to subject ourselves to this filmatic torture was to find some small solace in nit-picking the technical errors and nonsensical development of the story. For example, I don't think the writer actually understood -how- crucifixion works as a form of capital punishment (puncturing the prisoner's body actually works to undermine its effects), and I particularly didn't think it was good parenting to have your 14 old year daughter take off her cloth and use her body to warm a stranger of sketchy background.

I've never read the manga, and after watching this film, I have no desire to. So if translating the manga into film was intended to extend and expand the franchise, it's failed to do that with me. I am not sure how anyone but the most fervent fans of the manga series might find this film appealing. If you have an attention span of longer than 3 minutes, I recommend you avoid this mess altogether.

Great movie & plenty of action throughout. Tale of courage and imperial domination. I found little to complain about viewing this movie.

Epic in scope, aesthetically pleasing, gloriously violent, and just a little bonkers at times, Kamui The Lone Ninja possesses many of the attributes that would usually qualify a film as a classic in my book. Sadly, despite these positives, the film fails to achieve 'must-see' status thanks to an overlong running time and its god-awful CGI effects, which frequently and mercilessly shatter the illusion of fantasy. It's extremely frustrating to suspend disbelief and immerse oneself in a mythical cinematic realm, only to be regularly jolted back to reality by the glaringly obvious use of horrendous digital trickery, and it makes the overall experience less than satisfying.

Rarely do I place so much importance on seemingly trifling technical matters—after all, I've thoroughly enjoyed many a film with worse special effects—but against Kamui's sublime, natural scenery and its visually-arresting, heavily saturated seascapes, the crappy CGI is just too jarring to forgive. Kamui's advanced ninja moves performed during a treetop battle are simply abysmal; the scaling of a sheer cliff-face by Kamui sees the ninja move in the manner of a Looney Tunes cartoon character; and the less said about the dreadful shark hunting scenes, the better.

I do, admittedly, feel a little mean for berating Kamui so much for its shoddy effects—I actually liked many of the more dramatic scenes—so by way of recompense, I hereby award it the title of 'Second Best Martial Arts Movie to Feature a Scene of Gratuitous Horse Dismemberment' (the equine decapitation in Ringo Lam's Burning Paradise narrowly beating Kamui's severed horse leg to first place).

The CGI was so bad it seriously interfered with my ability to enjoy this film. The plot was quite basic and typical so I was hoping for some awesome fighting but the heavy use of terrible CGI meant that it was almost entirely unrealistic, thus taking all the pleasure out of it. The only feature that was a pleasant surprise was the lack of music throughout, giving it a sense of realism that the aesthetics failed to show. Even when there was music, it was light and in the background, the director instead favouring the diegetic sounds, such as heavy breathing or swords slicing through flesh. There is also the interesting contrast between the Ninja and the idyllic surroundings of the island, clearly used to show how, even in such a peaceful environment, Kamui is unable to escape his past life. Despite these possible intentions for having the characters in such a setting, I still feel that the sight of the 'Masters of the Night' fighting on an overly bright beach hard to accept.