Waste of time

hyped garbage

Captivating movie !

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Ogami (well played by the husky Tomisaburo Wakayama) gets hired to rub out tattooed female assassin Oyuki (a strong portrayal by striking slender brunette Michi Azuma). Meanwhile, bitter rival killer Yagyyu Gunbei (an excellent performance by Yoichi Hayashi) stumbles across Ogami's son Daigoro (adorable Akihiro Tomikawa) and seizes upon his chance to exact revenge on Ogami. Director Buichi Saito brings a pleasingly pulpy B-grade trash aesthetic to the series: The lively and eventful story unfolds at a breathless brisk pace, the trademark over-the-top excessive violence is present and accounted for (blood squirts and spurts all over the place), and the beautiful Mrs. Azuma supplies a satisfying smattering of tasty female nudity. Moreover, the exciting sword fights are staged with considerable flair and skill, with Ogami butchering a slew of guys at the end and even taking a brutal beating in the process. Kazou Koike's compact and thoughtful script not only delivers on the thrilling visceral basics, but also shows how thankless Ogami's plight as a hired killer can be and has some provocative stuff to say about the fundamental Japanese principle of honor. Hideaki Sakurai's funky-grinding score hits the get-down groovy spot. Kazou Miyagawa's sumptuous cinematography provides a wealth of stunning visuals. Good grindhouse fun.

Wow, they sure cranked out the Lone Wolf and Cub films--this is the fourth one and all were made in about a one year period. This one is very similar to the rest and includes the usual rape scene (why this has been in all of the films so far is beyond me--and a bit disturbing), tons of violence and blood (especially for 1972) and exceptional action. However, I think this installment is a bit talkier (actually A LOT talkier) and has a more confusing plot than the previous three. Now this is not to say it's a bad film--I just think it's a bit weaker because it was a bit tough to follow who was being killed and why. Also it is different in that I might term this one the 'severed limb' episode, as there are more arms and legs chopped off than ever before--and the exact number is staggering. There is only one problem--in a few cases you can pretty clearly see the actors hiding the real limbs inside the robes. But, in the funniest and sickest scene in the film, I laughed out loud as our anti-hero fights a group of gray ninjas and dismembers them all. Then, as these guys are writhing about, one is crawling after Itto and begins trying to chew on him!! Talk about tenacious!! A good but far from great installment.

I saw the dubbed Shogun Assassin and was hooked. This film has more content than the 3rd in the series. The acting and character development are superb and I can't wait to check out the next installment. The father son relationship is what marks these movies out plus the fearsome babycart.

These movies were infamous for their incredibly brutal and bloody swordplay sequences, but equally impressive IMHO was the leading actor- Tomisaburo Wakayama a.k.a. "Lone Wolf" was surely the greatest martial arts star ever. The command and authority with which he wielded a sword (and other weapons) was just phenomenal. The blade truly was an extension of himself, and his use of it was the definition of lethal, with none of the unnecessary/show-off flourishes so desperately thrown about by today's wannabes. He had incredible presence and charisma- easily on a par with the likes of say Eastwood or Bronson- with eyes that reflected pure death, and the desolation in his soul. There were moments in the "Babycart" series where you'd swear he was the personification of his namesake, the Wolf. You never doubted for one second that he WAS shogun executioner, masterless samurai, assassin for hire. One look at him in action, and you could readily understand why his enemies trembled at the mention of his name, and ran from him in sheer terror. Alas, Lone Wolf is one with void now, but his legend will live on forever in these films. Forget Toshiro Mifune. Forget Takakura Ken. Forget Sonny Chiba. Forget Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, and any of those wire-reliant ballet dancers from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. And CERTAINLY forget any American martial artists that you could care to name. Tomisaburo Wakayama was, is, and forever shall be, THE MAN!