Bloodtype Online

    Okay guys pay attention because I’m only going to explain this one time.  This movie tells the story of two opposing Ninja Clans that are trying to jockey for position by being the clan that successfully kills off a samurai named Nobunaga.  Nobunaga has been making war on several clans so that he will be in the position to challenge the power of the Shogunate.  Now neither of the ninja clans have any love or loyalty for the Shogunate, but neither wants the other clan to gain the prestige of killing Nobunaga.  So both clans send their best assassins, who manage to fail miserably.  It is here that we are introduced to Goemon who is an up and coming ninja for one of the clans.  Goemon also has an eye for the ladies and ends up having an affair with the Master’s wife, who is killed when Goemon tries to flee after they are caught.  Rather than just kill Goemon the Master sends him on the suicidal mission of trying to kill Nobunaga, all while forcing him to stain his honor by stealing money for the clan.  In the end it is revealed that Goemon isn’t the terrible criminal that even he thought he was, and after seeing that everyone gets what is coming to them he leaves the life of a ninja behind.   

    This is an awesome movie.  The story is difficult at times to follow, mostly due to the fact that several times in the movie things are revealed which cause the audience to reevaluate the characters and what they have already seen of the story.  In a lesser movie this may of felt forced or contrived, but here with this film it works.  But be warned this is the kind of movie that demands that you pay close attention, otherwise you will get lost very easily.  I’m also not a fan most times of “twist” endings, but the twist in this movie is so overwhelmingly cool that I just couldn’t help liking it.  Plus I mean this is a movie about ninjas and they are sneaky, so it makes sense!   

    The cast does a wonderful job in their roles, without a single weak performance in the bunch.  Raizô Ichikawa, who gives a wonderful performance as Goemon, especially impressed me.  The role requires not only acting talent, but also a physical performance during the fight scenes.  Ichikawa does a great job in both cases and it is a damn shame that he died so young.  I should warn all of the fans not to expect the arterial sprays and limb removal that you would expect in a typical Samurai film.  This movie is far more restrained and subtle, but then again they are ninjas.   

    This movie has an excellent story, great acting, and is just damn cool.  The only caveat that I would make is that, as stated above, you have to pay attention to the movie to understand what is going on.  I highly recommend this movie.  Go buy or rent it immediately! 

****

-John "El Juan" Shatzer