Rurouni Kenshin: The Final

Thanks to Netflix, the climax of this magnificent Japanese samurai saga is now available and it's solid, though I have a few reservations. “Runo Kenshin” is a series that never managed to grow on me. The film beautifully shot, the choreography of the fights is thoroughly worked out, it's very good to watch, but I'm bothered by the main character. He has taken a vow not to kill anyone else and that's a stumbling block for me. Watching a samurai fighting against hundreds of opponents that don't spurt blood (he has a blunt blade) is quite a shame and also a bit of an excuse not to make a proper R-rated movie. I could imagine “Mortal Kombat” fatalities, a proper carnage; I'd probably be purring with bliss while watching it, but this way it left me pretty cold, and that's a shame because there's not much competition right now. The film is almost two and a half hours long and the real action doesn't start until the final third. During the first hour and a half there isn’t much, which does affect the pacing and entertainment a bit. I never really cared much for the characters or the story, so I found myself sitting through the conversational passages waiting for them to start fighting again. I like that the Japanese style is very much in evidence, those manga-anime elements are felt at every turn, and I loved the diverse villains but with their own fighting style, weapon, crazy hairstyle, I like that a lot. The visuals are spectacular too, you can see the money there, and, as I’ve already mentioned, the choreography is thrilling, you can see that everyone has worked up a good sweat, it's very fast and spectacular, very nice to see, but the blood is sadly lacking for me to be completely enthusiastic. Maybe I'll see it in a prequel, where Kenshin should be killing his opponents, although I'm afraid they'll turn it into a romantic drama about his wife, which I can’t be bothered with. Story 4/5, Action 4/5, Humor>No, Violence 2/5, Entertainment 4/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 3/5. 7.5/10. (20/06/2021)

A film packed with action, flashbacks, and emotion. You can really see in Sato that he's aged and matured in the ten years since the first clapperboard, which suited this piece perfectly. He still hops around, swings his sword, spins every which way, maneuvers, spryly dodges, and you can feel his strength; but when he’s standing you can feel his exhaustion. It's interesting. I really felt like everybody had to work a lot to make this movie happen. Old friends reunite and some have such great chemistry with Kenshin in the heat of battle that it's a joy to watch. Maybe it could have used more space for the story itself and the motives of the characters; after all, most of it was masked by action, thankfully we get that depth in the prequel The Beginning. It must be a great show on the big screen. I walk away satisfied and I’m glad they ended Kenshin's story this way. (18/06/2021)