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Shogun Assassin 3: Slashing Blades of Carnage (1972)
As mentioned in the other reviews of the "Shogun Assassin" films, these were put together from the "Lone Wolf and Cub" series as "Shogun Assassin" was only created after those were made. Part 3 of the "Shogun Assassin" series is actually "Lone Wolf & Cub - Baby Cart in Peril" which of course is it's original title.
In "Shogun Assassin 3" Ogami Ito finds himself face to face with a female assassin. She's tattooed and quite dangerous. Obviously she is someone of interest to Ogami as is Gunbei Yagyu. Yagyu lost a duel with Ogami in front of the Shogun and had his position of executioner taken away from him and was left embarrassed. Now he runs into Ogami's son Daigoro and has the perfect shot at revenge. Ogami then finds himself against Yagyu warriors as well as having his enemy waiting in the wings to fight him!
Obviously as the series goes on there manages to be even greater challenges for Ogami Ito, which is something that I felt keeps the movies strong. Personally I didn't like this installment better than either of the first two, but regardless it manages to keep the story moving and they continue to bring out cooler villains for Ogami to face off with. This time around we get treated to one of the cooler characters in the series with Oyuki the female assassin showing up. She's tattooed on her back and chest and basically fights topless throughout the movie. She's quite the effective killer as is evident by the first scene in the movie that she appears.
There's a absolutely great scene in which Ogami encounters assassins at a Buddhist temple in the movie too. It's really great from beginning to end and it might even catch you by surprise too, which it certainly did in my case. If there is one thing that the "Shogun Assassin" movies have taught me is that I would certainly be dead if I was living in this time. Or at least I wouldn't have been a samurai because I would have been killed 50 times over due to the sneak attacks that Ogami naturally sees coming. This is part of the samurai's mystique and it makes the movies more interesting as a whole as well.
The story in this one seems a bit thin, but you do manage to get everything out of the film that you need. There are great battles, lessons to be learned, and of course great swordplay on display in every fight scene. The one thing that I really enjoyed about this installment was the growth of the Daigoro (aka Cub) character. In one scene he is being publically whipped and shows a great sign of strength in this particular scene as well as a few other parts in the film. Personally I loved the way that Yagyu recognizes him as the "Lone Wolf's son".
Overall this is another really strong entry into the series. I really enjoyed it and during it's 81 minute running time as my only complaint is that the movie felt a bit short. Otherwise it's another great samurai movie that just continues to add to this legendary series. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating - ***
-Ed Demko
