One of the reasons why Dark Horse
is one of my most favorite comic book publishers is because it introduced me to
Blade of the Immortal, which it
republished in English back then. Now, I
haven’t got the chance to see the anime adaptation, but the manga series had
been an epic read for me. Consequently, Manji,
the titular “immortal”, has become one of my most favorite fictional samurai characters.
Thus, ever since I learned there’s a live-action film adaptation out this year – and helmed by Takashi Miike no
less (I really liked his 2010 film 13
Assassins) – I was excited to watch it.
Seeing Manji be an unstoppable badass in live-action made me salivate in
expectation.
The essential premise of the
source material is intact in this movie.
It features a deadly but disgraced samurai named Manji (Takuya Kimura)
who prevails over a mob of assassins, but not before his sister is killed and
at the cost of receiving several lethal wounds.
Lying dying, he’s saved by an 800-year-old nun who puts “sacred
bloodworms” – remarkable creatures that can rapidly repair injuries and
reattach severed body parts – inside his body, making him immortal. Later, he meets a girl named Asano Rin (Hana
Sugisaki) who wants to hire him as her bodyguard in order to exact revenge on
her parents’ murderers – a band of master swordsmen led by the cold, ambitious Anotsu
Kagehisa (Sōta Fukushi).
It’s as mesmerizingly gritty as I
expected from a Miike film. As far as
being an action thriller, it is gratifyingly impeccable. It’s packed with glorious, bloody sword fights, and as
the movie progresses, the kickassery only escalates. Add this with the gorgeous cinematography and production value, and the
film is quite enthralling to behold.
Moreover, it’s not just a mindless
barrage of exhilarating battles. It has
a thoughtful story, too. It has some Logan in it. Thus, the place
of each display of violence is justified, as it works with the storytelling to
create emotional investment, build up, or catharsis. And it is through these battles, during and
after, where the characters are significantly developed and explored.
But as far as adaptation goes, Blade of the Immortal didn’t blow me away
as much as the Ruruoni Kenshin
live-action films. While the latter
spreads it out in three films, the former tries to do too much in one film –
adapting as much of the manga as it can.
Hence, though it does capture the essence of the source material, it also feels
diluted. Chunks of the well-layeredness
of the characters and the depths of the story are sacrificed. The whole movie clocks at 140 minutes – rather
lengthy already. But that is apparently
insufficient to accomplish the job thoroughly.
That said, if it’s not compared
to its source material, I think Blade of
the Immortal is pretty great. On its
own, it’s as relentless and durable in entertaining its audiences as much as
its titular character is in battling his opponents.
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