Ichi (2008) Reviews

• Decent Ichi

  poikkeus2009-09-20

  Swordplay movies can come with pretty high standards, and the kind of production that might have been forgiven with 50s and 60s epics have to be rethought as we approach modern treatments. Fact is, ICHI is a fairly traditional version of the Blind Swordsman, though Haruka Ayase has a one-two punch of strong acting and good lucks. Dressed in rags, glowering, and compelling, Ayase is entirely convincing. Takao Osawa has winning chemistry with co-star, playing the drifter who had accidentally blinder his mother years before. The swordplay sequences are shot in mixed slow and regular motion, digital blood spurting everywhere. Despite the carnage, her blade is always clean, her fingernails perfectly manicured, and always looking breathtaking under the worst of situations. ICHI is not, however, about realism; it's an adventure-romance, and anyone looking for complete accuracy will be disappointed. The real problem comes with the villains - Riki Takeuchi, usually good with pulp roles, overdoes his role as baddie - a fault that's shared by other antagonists. The most satisfying swordplay yarns have original writing along with thrilling fights, but ICHI only the second part of the formula. As a result, the story is agreeable albeit rather ordinary.

• Good action drama suffers only if you compare it to the best of the Zatoichi films. Taken on its own terms this is a fine little film worth the time to see

  dbborroughs2009-06-15

  Rethink, and perhaps continuation of the story of Zatoichi, the blind swordsman. here the blind masseuse and gambler has been replaced by a blind woman who is a trained musician. As the film begins she is looking for a certain man. One can pretty much assume that she wants to kill him. While staying with a blind woman some toughs decide to rough up her host when they won't pay for her services. A wandering samurai named Toma tries to help, but its Ichi who kills the men. Following Ichi Toma ends up hired as the protector of a village built around a town. They think Toma killed some of the gang that had been running rough shod over them, but it was actually Ichi. As the gang moves to take revenge, Toma and Ichi grow close. How it all plays out is the movie. Some people really don't like this movie. I've seen somethings that have blasted the film for not being a real Zatoichi film. Some people have taken it to task for having poor performances, especially in the lead. I really liked the film. I had no problems with Haruka Ayase as Ichi. I found her fine for what the part is. This is not a real restart of Zatoichi, its more a continuation with flashback sequences implying that the elder Ichi was this girl's father. Its a film that is going in a different direction. I have no trouble with the film being anything other than its own thing. You can't really compare it to the best of the Zatoichi series since its not really fair since those films had a couple of chances to hit their stride before they got it right. Its certainly better than the weakest of the series which could be downright dull. If I were to pin point the films flaws it would e the over length, I don't know if the film really needs to be two hours. Certainly it felt longer while watching it than when it was over. The other flaw is that the films budget at times makes it seem almost like a TV movie, especially with the use of computer generated blood. I like the film a great deal and would recommend it, especially if you let the film do what it wants to do and not take for what its not, say a continuation of Beat Takashi's take on the characters. Worth a rental or an evening at the movies. Between 7 and 8 out of 10

• A stylish take on a classic legend...

  paul_haakonsen2012-09-19

  Having seen other movies about the Zatoichi legend and having been less than entertained and having ended up ejecting the disc about half way through, it was with some hesitation that I sat down to watch this 2008 take on the legend. I will say this this 2008 version was particularly stylish and interesting compared to the other ones I have seen. It stands out as it is heavier on the action and the acting, than the older movies that are heavier on the melodrama. The movie is easily summarized for those not familiar with the legend of the blind swordsman. Ichi (played by Haruka Ayase), a blind traveling musician, is seeking out her mentor, and on her travels she meets up with Toma Fujihira (played by Takao Osawa) and the end up in a feud between the Yakuza and a gang of thugs. "Ichi" has some good action scenes and sequences that were nicely choreographed, and they used a great combination of slow-motion and regular motion camera work to enhance the action. And the sword fight scenes were spices up with spray blood, although there wasn't actually any gore, so it was tastefully done. Oddly enough, though, with her skills with her sword, Ichi never got any blood on her and was always pretty and clean. The movie was driven by a good story, and helped along by some pretty good acting. I must applaud Haruka Ayase for her portrayal of Ichi, because it was really nicely done; emotional and beautiful. The movie did suffer from the acting of Shidô Nakamura who played Banki, the leader of the thugs, it was overdone and very staged. There was a lot of good camera work in the movie, and lots of nice scenes. They made good use of the scenery in the movie, and the sets were working quite well. And the costumes and props were working well in favor of the movie as well. For a live action Manga, then "Ichi" was a good movie, entertaining and full of action. I was glad that I watched this, despite of my former bad experiences with the older movies. Recommendable for those who like feudal Japanese swords fighting movies.

• A movie for the senses

  dustin-196-6765032014-12-27

  Epic! I loved this movie! The action scenes are really cool. the swordplay is a lot of fun. there are some bullet-time action scenes. the classic blind samurai portrayed through a lonesome girl is very intriguing. it's going to catch your attention and take you into ichi's world. ichi is special because, we feel for her, become attached to her, and don't want to see her suffer. "ichi" envelopes you through sound and hearing. we all know she is blind, and develop a keen sense of the sounds that trigger events. the shots are very cool, soothing, and warm colors express vibrancy and visual sensation. the play on sounds pulls the viewer into "ichi's" vision-less world. it's easy to fall in love with the main characters, because they have so much personality, and are very charismatic. i highly recommend this movie! It was awesome from beginning to end!

• Remake is decent, but does not compare with earlier version

  ethSin2009-04-05

  I haven't seen the original films in the '60s and '70s, but I watched the 2003 Zatouichi starring "Beat" Takeshi, which was a very strong film. This remake starring Ayase Haruka has its share of improvements, but just as many shortcomings. Sori Fumihiko's direction, as with "Ping Pong", was wonderful. Cinematography was very beautifully done, and the slow motion in action sequence for dramatic effect was spontaneous and enjoyable. One thing that really impressed me was the music. I saw the name "Lisa Gerrard" under musical scores in the opening credit. My first impression was, "huh? A Japanese jidaigeki with foreign sounds? Unthinkable!" But it turned out to be incredibly dramatic and accommodated every scene perfectly. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the casting. Ayase Haruka was really beautiful and cool as the blind assassin, but she was hopeless in a particular singing scene, and some other 'everyday' scenes. I can't help but to notice how blood wasn't spilling all over her face like the 2003 version. An inevitable consequence of an idol film. Nakamura Shidou as the villain was outright horrible. He severely overacted and made the film feel incredibly cheesy. Although I'm a huge fan of Kubozuka Yousuke, I must admit his presence was too modern for an edo-period film like this. He just seemed out of place, talking like a modern teenager. Only Oosawa Takao fit the role and delivered a decent performance. I guess most of the blame should be placed on the script, which not only set the tone of each character (that the actors were not capable of...), it failed to illustrate the most important feature of the character Ichi. When I watched the 2003 version, what impressed me about the character was that he can be so deadly even though he was blind, merely using the sound of opponent charging and feeling of enemy presence. This remake, however, completely failed to show how the character was strong as she was, and also ignored the weaknesses, such as the scene where the crowd was making a lot of noise, but she was still able to easily defeat her opponent. The movie had nice action and few touching scenes, but plagued by miscasting and a weak script that also over-dramatized the story. Not nearly as good as the 2003 version in my opinion, but still fun enough to watch.