Kingdom

A beautiful and incredible Japanese banger! The gripping story focuses on two brothers who are told from a young age that they will become the greatest generals of the Qin Kingdom, but they have to take part in 10,000 matches. Soon one of the brothers is taken to the Royal Court as the King's double. Meanwhile, the lone brother trains for a few years and sets out for the kingdom alone, facing some interesting opponents along the way. The film is based on a Japanese Manga, but thankfully it sticks to the ground and I liked that. There are some interesting characters, like an assassin, mountain men, and a half giant. There is plenty of action and it is absolutely riveting, spectacular and engaging. The film reminded me a lot of Rurouni Kenshin or Blade of the Immortal. Gorgeous visuals, interesting story, great pacing and awesome action. For me, a lot of satisfaction. 6.9 on IMDB. 8/10. (05.12.2019)

Vavča said it, too – the subject matter to be processed is so vast that condensing it into a two-hour film doesn't do it much good. It makes it very difficult for the viewer to find their way to the characters because they don't have enough time to get to know them, to understand their motivations and history. There are hints here and there, but they don't make you (or at least me) root for the characters. Of course the King's brother was a slimeball, so it was easy to root for his failure, his death, but otherwise? Not interested. Obviously there's a big world to conquer, characters who still have something to say, but this is basically just an introduction and a pretty truncated one at that. Given that it's set in China, there's obviously jumping up and down during the fights, to the point of flying, and while the Chinese are good at these movies, the Japanese – at least here – still have some catching up to do. It didn't quite fit. I would have liked to see it go deeper. I would have liked less of a shouting Yamazaki, because he's not very good at that type of character. Basically, his best performance was at the end when he was staring at the sword. I'm not saying he was terrible, though; just that the character didn't really fit him. On the other hand, Yoshizawa Ryo did a good job in a double role. He was perfect as the king. Anyway, anyone who likes Sato Shinsuke's work will be happy here; it's definitely him. The whole film is mediocre – the story, the characters, the fights. But I bet the original subject matter is pretty good. (06.05.2020)