Kamui: The Lone Ninja (Japanese with English Subtitles)

Kamui desires to leave the Ninja clan. His problem - the clan expects members to remain loyal unto death and hunt down any deserters, killing them to prevent future ninjas wishing to leave. Kamui is therefore a man on the run, trying to escape his past.

Fleeing from the clan he encounters Hanbei, a fisherman in the act of killing the horse of Lord Gumbei (a heinous crime in the Japan of the 17th Century. Kamui saves Hanbei from the Lord's men and the two, despite a rocky start, become friends. So much so that Kamui makes his home in Hanbei's village.

As a live action adaptation of a Manga/Anime legend of the 1960s this movie has all the extreme martial arts action you'd expect. Fortunately, whilst it has a share of gore and blood, it steers well clear of the over-the-top, comedy gross-out bloodfest of many recent Japanese films.

It benefits from very good characterisations. Somehow in between all the swordplay and high kicking the film makers managed to populate this world with some endearing, some infuriating, but always totally believable and well fleshed out characters. This is much more a tale of one man's desire for freedom than it is an excuse for endless fight scenes.

It might not be the best ninja movie ever made (as the quote on the DVD cover claims) but it's damn fine entertainment.

Page updated 7 March, 2011