Zatôichi: The Last

Up until I saw "Zatoichi: The Last", I thought the final Shintarô Katsu Zatoichi film (returning 27 years after the first film in the series) was the most unnecessary. That 1989 film found the legendary blind swordsman in prison--broken and only a shadow of his old self. Well, in "Zatoichi: The Last" it's even worse. He's not a shadow of his old self...he's simply NOT Zatoichi and it's a film that fan's can't help but hate.

This long and humorless film finds Zatoichi vowing to stop fighting and finally settle down after the murder of his wife. He goes to a crappy village full of farmers and fishermen. Surprise, surprise...soon baddies show up and beat up, rape and rob these poor people. Oddly, though, it sure takes a long time for enough to be enough and for Zatoichi to chop the baddies to pieces. And, since the film has "The Last" in its title, you can pretty much figure out how it's all going to end. No surprises here.

For folks who have never seen the films before this, I'd score this one a 6. It's depressing, overly long but worth seeing. For fans, I'd give this one a Zero if it was possible. This new Zatoichi acts and looks NOTHING like the original. Katsu's version which he played for 31 films was funny at times, likable and grizzled. This incarnation is just not this character in any way. A terrible slap in the face of fans.

By the way, I sure would have loved to have seen Takeshi Kitano return for another Zatoichi film. His 2003 Zatoichi film actually DID capture the spirit of the older films AND infused some freshness as well. So I am NOT against seeing a Zatoichi film without Shintarô Katsu---but the character must be consistent and in the spirit of the original films.

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003), where the leading role has Takeshi Kitano is everything which this movie isn't. It has an interesting story, we can enjoy more than impressive scene of the samurai sword fighting, every move is so precise, so 'Zen', so awesome. We follow three stories at the same time and they 'melt' into one, because the people in them meet each other, their life paths meet each other. This movie has everything: humor, fighting scenes, drama, crime, justice..., a complete movie. You can really laugh, you can really relate to every character and find the reason 'why' for she or he, every character is so greatly founded.

But the sequel, 'The last', is everything but not above mentioned. A very weak story, a weak characterization, there is nothing in Ichi's swordsmanship, he is so clumsy, that even the final fight is like a big joke. It is not even a the worst copy of the final scene from the last part from 2003. We can't feel the pain of Zatoichi, when his woman is dead, he uses his sword as it is the stick for killing flies. I don't even to bother what the director or the screen writer wanted to convey, because the movie didn't say anything. No drama, no humor, it is very boring story, dark, and very risky thing to make a sequel,a 'different' story after so great movie in 2003. I don't know what you are going to do and think, but me, after a big expectation to see more Zatoichi, because it is one of my favorite movies, I saw nothing.I tossed my copy and I am going to see Takeshi Kitano and this is the only Zatoichi for me. I know that there are tons of movies about Zatoichi even before Kitano, but I am sure that nobody can't top the 2003. version.

I'm a huge Zatoichi fan. I have been watching the series since I was a kid and own every film that came out on both VHS and later on DVD. Although I'm a hardcore fan I do enjoy different interpretations of the franchise like Kitano's 2003 remake and the Ayase Haruka version - Ichi which was not a rip off, by the way. but a spin off since it tells the story of Zatoichi's student, Ichi. The real rip off was Crimson Bat the blind sword-woman (1969) that was trying to cash in the popularity of the Zatoichi franchise at the time.

So okay I watched Shingo's verison of Zatoichi and it indeed different not in a good way. They strayed from the original spirit of the Zatoichi films and frankly I didn't like it. Shingo of SMAP is probably the least appropriate person to do Zatoichi. Shingo's Ichi is too clean shaven and too lanky and does not have the swagger of Zatoichi. Even his acting as a blind man is unconvincing and over done. Zatoichi is a rugged yakuza gambler but a member of a boy band.

You see, what made a Zatoichi flick , a great Zatoichi flick are three important elements 1) Flashy tightly woven sword play 2) Snarky humor and charisma from either Zatoichi himself or the supporting characters 3) A straight forward story about good vs evil with a clear resolution (bad guys die).

Certainly Zatoichi is all about the sword play right? The original had chuck full of it. Kitano's Zatoichi had some great sword fights (the final showdown between Ichi and the Ronin) with lots of CG blood. Even Ayase's Ichi also has some fantastic sword play as well.

Unfortunately Shingo's version falls short. As the first reviewer mentioned the fight scenes were not very good. Shingo's Zatoichi did not feel like a deadly blind iaido expert but a clumsy old man who can barely hold a sword. Both Katsu's (the original Ichi) and Kitano's Ichi feigned helplessness but can instantly switch to menacing if the situation called for it. In comparison, Shigo's Ichi, although younger, seem to be going senile. Instead of lighting fast sword strikes which is the signature of Zatoichi's fighting style, Shingo's Ichi seem to be just flailing around with his cain sword and the unfortunate bad guy just happen to be there. Honesty, I want to kick the fight choreographer in the face.

How about humor? Even the sober version of Kitano's Zatoichi had lots of humor in it supplied mostly by the supporting and colorful cast (Tap dancing farmers? Cross dressing Geishas? Come on!). Unfortunately Zatoichi the Last had none - in fact this is probably the most depressing Zatoichi I've watched.

Okay what about the plot? In one of the films of the original series, Zatoichi and the Doomed Man, Zatoichi first discovered the sea in his travels yet in this reiteration Zatoichi's hometown is a fishing village! The whole plot is somewhat confusing and disjointed. The way the stories and loose ends were resolved was not as satisfying as the original and even the newer remakes like Kitano's 2003 version.

All in all, if you are curious then I can't stop you but beware, this version of Zatoichi not only falls short but it falls off a very high cliff and breaks its neck on the sharp rocks below. If you want to watch a fairly modern version of Zatoichi I suggest Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi which is closer to the source material. Or better yet do yourself a favor and watch the original.

This interpretation of the character of Zatoichi was sincerely awful, with all his stumbling and bumbling. His swordmanship sucked, too. Absolutely nothing like Shintaro Kastu who brought a quiet dignity and class to the role.

And the sound editing was horrid. This movie will go on my list of Movies For The Blind.

Excited at first to see a new Ichi movie, I was very disappointed as the movie dragggggged on. Having seen I believe every movie in the series, and some of the TV shows from the 70's, I can say with some validity that this movie has very little in common with any of them. Character name and cane sword, yes, but that's about it. The humanity, pathos and occasional comic touch, as played by Katsu (the original Zatoichi) is almost totally absent.

The script and plot are very hard to follow (and this from an avid follower of Japanese films). If you're not familiar with the feudal Japan of a few hundred years ago, and the role played by the yakuza there, you'll be totally lost. The movie is probably at least 30 minutes too long, with many scenes screaming for a less self-indulgent director/editor. I found myself frequently hitting fast-forward to shorten lengthy scenes of just walking, sitting, etc.

To top it off, Zatoichi films have at their core the singular hook of a blind swordsman prevailing against multiple foes. Unfortunately, the swordplay is very weak, and not staged very well. The actor playing Ichi looks as if he spent a few weeks learning iaido for the first time. Katsu's Ichi was heroic and larger-than-life, and there's just never a sense of that essential quality in this movie.

Finally, without giving anything away, I will just say the ending is arguably the worst ending I have seen in many decades. Watch ANY other of the dozens of Zatoichi movies, or the 100+ movie-quality TV episodes, and you'll be much happier.