VERSUS director Ryuhei Kitamura's adaptation of
Azumi, the popular long-running
manga series, remains faithful to its highly regarded source with an intelligent script, clever -- if often cruel -- visual flourishes, and thrillingly staged fight sequences. Disgusted by the ongoing violence among grasping warlords whose battles have torn his nation apart, 19th-century shogun Lord Tokugawa charges Master Gessai (Yoshiro Harada) to assemble a team of crack assassins and train them to exterminate every last troublemaker. Gessai, who lost his beloved son on a battlefield fighting the rancorous Toyotomi Allies, recruits 10 young orphans, including the strong, ...
Released:
2003
Rated:
NR
Length:
128 mins