
In 1844, the peace of Feudal Japan is threatened by cruel Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira, who is politically rising and getting closer to his half-brother, the shogun. After the harakiri of the Namiya clan leader, samurai Shinzaemon Shimada is summoned by the shogun's advisor Sir Doi of the Akashi Clan to listen to the tragedy of Makino Uneme, whose son and daughter-in-law have been murdered by Naritsugu. Then Sir Doi shows a woman with arms, legs and tongue severed by Naritsugu a... (Full plot summary below)
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In 1844, the peace of Feudal Japan is threatened by cruel Lord Naritsugu Matsudaira, who is politically rising and getting closer to his half-brother, the shogun. After the harakiri of the Namiya clan leader, samurai Shinzaemon Shimada is summoned by the shogun's advisor Sir Doi of the Akashi Clan to listen to the tragedy of Makino Uneme, whose son and daughter-in-law have been murdered by Naritsugu. Then Sir Doi shows a woman with arms, legs and tongue severed by Naritsugu and she writes with her forearm a request to Shinza to slaughter Naritsugu and his samurai. Shinza promises to kill Naritsugu and he gathers eleven other samurais and plots a plan to attack Naritsugu in his trip back to the Akashi land. But the cunning samurai Hanbei Kitou that is responsible for the security of his master foresees Shinza's intent. Shinza decides to go with his samurai through the mountain, where they find the hunter Koyata that guides them off the mountain and joins the group. Now the thirteen men prepare an ambush to Naritsugu and his army of two hundred samurai in a suicide mission to stop evil.
Leave your thoughts about 13 Assassins.
| Financial TimesNigel AndrewsNearly every image is memorable: it is hard to pick out the most mind-blowing. |
| SalonAndrew O'HehirVisually spectacular, with wide-screen cinematography from Nobuyasu Kita, impressive, full-scale sets and special effects and exhausting, immersive action scenes, 13 Assassins is pretty nearly the samurai classic it sets out to become. |
| Time OutJoshua RothkopfA classically structured rampage that bears serious comparison to the definitive greats of Akira Kurosawa, 13 Assassins will floor connoisseurs of action, mood and the dignity of a pissed-off scowl. |
| Minneapolis Star TribuneColin CovertEpic. Unforgettable. Relentless. Magnificently entertaining. |
| AV ClubScott TobiasThe great Kôji Yakusho stars as a revered samurai who decides that enough is enough, and sets about assembling the assassins of the title like a men-on-a-mission movie. |
| CinemaDopeGlenn Lovell... a subversive, action-packed, beautifully crafted samurai revenge epic ... climaxes in a 40-minute pitched battle that utilizes sword, arrow, spear, slingshot and ‒ here's a new one ‒ burning bull. |
| Film Freak CentralWalter ChawThe film really isn't much like anything else. It's also likely to land on the shortlist of the year's best. |
| Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea13 Assassins is, at turns, thrilling and funny, visually exquisite and emotionally charged. |
| Time OutDavid JenkinsThe film is built as a long crescendo, opening at a level of considered, Zen-like reflection and ending with a prolonged cacophony of elaborate, town-wide annihilation. |
| UGOJordan HoffmanIf you like movies where tension mounts behind stern scowls and muted cries for justice until the very screen explodes with ballistic force, Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins is for you. |