In the post-apocalyptic future the former guardians of the emperor have become a clan of assassins. But now their princess has departed from their ranks after finding out that the steward of the clan does not have her best interests in mind. And now she must flee from them all. The assassins, the government, the everyday people.
The Princess Blade is based on the manga Lady Snowblood by Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Kamimura, and it is very much style over substance. But it is good style. The opening fight pretty much sets the tone for the entire film. If you're not hooked after it, you can safely turn the TV off or look for something else to watch. The film is barely nothing more than one big katana fight after another, with crazy stunts, back flips, lots of swords doing that drawing sound they never do in real life, cool poses and people getting cut down.
Though to be fair, the story isn't all that bad. It just isn't focused on enough. The Princess Yuki (Yumiko Shaku) flees from everything she has ever known and meets Takashi (Hideaki Ito) a rebel against the government, being forced to hide in his home. Both Shaku and Ito are good actors and have genuine chemistry together. It's just that aside from the action scenes, the movie is pretty hard to follow. People have conversations together, but none of the scenes connect with one another and in the end you're not really sure what this all means for the characters and the world they live in.
There are also some rather strange touches and details in the story, but I blame the fact that they were adapting a manga series for those. Such details can always seem strange and superfluous if you're not careful about which scenes to add and which to leave out.
All in all, The Princess Blade is worth a watch if you'd like to see a kung fu action film that takes place in the post-apocalyptic future. Its story is not terribly exciting, but the action scenes are good enough for you to enjoy the film as a whole.
The Princess Blade is based on the manga Lady Snowblood by Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Kamimura, and it is very much style over substance. But it is good style. The opening fight pretty much sets the tone for the entire film. If you're not hooked after it, you can safely turn the TV off or look for something else to watch. The film is barely nothing more than one big katana fight after another, with crazy stunts, back flips, lots of swords doing that drawing sound they never do in real life, cool poses and people getting cut down.
Though to be fair, the story isn't all that bad. It just isn't focused on enough. The Princess Yuki (Yumiko Shaku) flees from everything she has ever known and meets Takashi (Hideaki Ito) a rebel against the government, being forced to hide in his home. Both Shaku and Ito are good actors and have genuine chemistry together. It's just that aside from the action scenes, the movie is pretty hard to follow. People have conversations together, but none of the scenes connect with one another and in the end you're not really sure what this all means for the characters and the world they live in.
There are also some rather strange touches and details in the story, but I blame the fact that they were adapting a manga series for those. Such details can always seem strange and superfluous if you're not careful about which scenes to add and which to leave out.
All in all, The Princess Blade is worth a watch if you'd like to see a kung fu action film that takes place in the post-apocalyptic future. Its story is not terribly exciting, but the action scenes are good enough for you to enjoy the film as a whole.