Plot
A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun.

Release Year: 2013

Rating: 7.2/10 (1,449 voted)

Critic's Score: /100

Director: Carl Rinsch

Stars: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kô Shibasaki

Storyline
A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun.

Writers: Chris Morgan, Hossein Amini

Cast:
Keanu Reeves - Kai
Hiroyuki Sanada - Ôishi
Kô Shibasaki - Mika
Tadanobu Asano - Lord Kira
Min Tanaka - Lord Asano
Jin Akanishi - Chikara
Masayoshi Haneda - Yasuno
Hiroshi Sogabe - Hazama
Takato Yonemoto - Basho
Hiroshi Yamada - Hara
Shû Nakajima - Horibe
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa - Shogun Tsunayoshi
Neil Fingleton - Lovecraftian Samurai
Rinko Kikuchi - Witch
Natsuki Kunimoto - Riku

Taglines: This Christmas, seize eternity.

Official Website: Official site [Japan]

Country: USA

Language: English, Japanese

Release Date: 25 December 2013

Filming Locations: Raleigh Studios Budapest- Felsokert utca 9, Budapest, Hungary

Technical Specs

Runtime: 119 min

Trivia:
This is Carl Rinsch's directorial debut. See more »

Author:

Rating: 9/10

From the initial trailer I wasn't expecting much of this movie, I was just excited to see a movie about Japanese history while Im living in Chiba, Japan. I saw the movie today (it was released on December 6th, in Japan) and it exceeded my expectations. My wife also liked it a lot, and she's Japanese. Of course it was somewhat "whitewashed," but actually I felt like Keaneau Reeves played more of a support role. The Japanese hero, Oishi, played the lead role. The effects looked a little suspect in the trailer, but they turned out great, and there was no "Avatar" effect as others have suggested. Overall, loved it. Give it a chance, enjoy it for what it is... a fantasy re-creation of a popular Japanese historical event.

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