Looking at some of the reviews posted earlier, they were spot on about the parts played by Westerners in this movie. Not that I am an expert on Japan, but they are a very different culture than the rest of the world. The plot of this movie dealing with a particular style of Karate practiced by the Kuranei family and the honor of a sacred black belt may not mean much to most Westerners, especially those not involved with any form or martial arts. Yeah I don't know much about that either, but I love watching the movies. I feel that all of the actors should have been Japanese to better show how important tradition is to a Japanese family in particular and to the Japanese culture in general. Older people are held in honor still over there by younger people. school kids are taught manners and respect for teachers and one another. That is just a few observations I have made about Japan, and I got most of that from YouTube. And as in all martial arts movies, all action scenes are choreographed to avoid serious injury to the actors. I think they did a fine job and had some really good young talent to work with.
