I give this 4 stars for settings and costumes, and that's it.
Let's state first that Amazon rates this as "G"... and it is anything but. The body count and blood sprays are extensive. This should be rated PG-13 at the very least.
As a U. S. Citizen who knows little about Japanese history and nothing about Musashi, the character strikes me as a violent, sadistic killer. I realize that perhaps his history has been glorified beyond that... but so has Jesse James, Doc Holiday and Billy the Kid. It's impossible to tell from the film.
First, he decides to challenge a man to a non-lethal duel. The rules are set that first strike wins, but he breaks that rule, strikes his opponent after he himself is hit, and in the process permanently cripples his opponent. This is supposed to make him a great swordsman?
Not satisfied with that he demands a rematch yadda yadda and eventually enters a lopsided battle in which he goes in knowing he'll be fighting a child. Although he has no intention of actually fighting the child, when he (accidentally) kills that child in the heat of battle, again he's a 'great swordsman' because of the number of additional men he slaughters? Agreed much of that was in self-defense, but if he didn't have the presence of mind during battle to avoid murdering a defenseless child, how great a swordsman is he? The movie presents him more as a berserker.
Admitted, the times of feudal Japan were extremely violent, Samurai were plentiful (to the point many of them were basically criminals), and bloody wars and battles were the rule of the day. This film seems to me to portray Musashi as a senseless killer, a criminal Samurai... not a heroic swordsman fighting for a cause. In the entire film he never killed someone in self-defense (he started the fight almost every time), not once did he fight to defend another person, nor in actual battle. It seems from the narrative that all he did was slaughter people to try and make a name for himself and procure a job. In this perhaps the movie mis-portrays the character, but it's hard to see him any other way.
This is not a historic character I would admire. If I'd have been a Clan Lord I'd have forgotten the duels and challenges and just had a few dozen archers take this person out as a violent public menace.
Mushaki is portrayed as an ultra-violent sociopath who only cares for his own glory, no matter how many people he has to slaughter in the process. If the real-life character was different than this film portrays, then I'd have to say this film did a fairly bad job of telling his story.
Let's state first that Amazon rates this as "G"... and it is anything but. The body count and blood sprays are extensive. This should be rated PG-13 at the very least.
As a U. S. Citizen who knows little about Japanese history and nothing about Musashi, the character strikes me as a violent, sadistic killer. I realize that perhaps his history has been glorified beyond that... but so has Jesse James, Doc Holiday and Billy the Kid. It's impossible to tell from the film.
First, he decides to challenge a man to a non-lethal duel. The rules are set that first strike wins, but he breaks that rule, strikes his opponent after he himself is hit, and in the process permanently cripples his opponent. This is supposed to make him a great swordsman?
Not satisfied with that he demands a rematch yadda yadda and eventually enters a lopsided battle in which he goes in knowing he'll be fighting a child. Although he has no intention of actually fighting the child, when he (accidentally) kills that child in the heat of battle, again he's a 'great swordsman' because of the number of additional men he slaughters? Agreed much of that was in self-defense, but if he didn't have the presence of mind during battle to avoid murdering a defenseless child, how great a swordsman is he? The movie presents him more as a berserker.
Admitted, the times of feudal Japan were extremely violent, Samurai were plentiful (to the point many of them were basically criminals), and bloody wars and battles were the rule of the day. This film seems to me to portray Musashi as a senseless killer, a criminal Samurai... not a heroic swordsman fighting for a cause. In the entire film he never killed someone in self-defense (he started the fight almost every time), not once did he fight to defend another person, nor in actual battle. It seems from the narrative that all he did was slaughter people to try and make a name for himself and procure a job. In this perhaps the movie mis-portrays the character, but it's hard to see him any other way.
This is not a historic character I would admire. If I'd have been a Clan Lord I'd have forgotten the duels and challenges and just had a few dozen archers take this person out as a violent public menace.
Mushaki is portrayed as an ultra-violent sociopath who only cares for his own glory, no matter how many people he has to slaughter in the process. If the real-life character was different than this film portrays, then I'd have to say this film did a fairly bad job of telling his story.
