drenstere
Not bad acting from individual members of the cast. Choreography wasn't terrible, with some scenes that looked pretty decent, especially from the leads. Folks not familiar with the original anime series will think the writing is clumsy, but possibly acceptable. Folks familiar with the story canon will probably not like this movie at all. I won't spoil it for you if you want to watch. (I had to see it for myself to know for sure) Again, no spoilers, but the ending sucked mightily. If you're hanging on for dear life with your hand on the DVR delete button, hoping to be saved by the ending, don't bother. There are plenty of choices in the series that follow canon without insulting your intelligence.
A_Different_Drummer
Consider this a "one-of" an oddball film that stands out from its time and its competitors.Japan in the last few decades has developed an almost total mastery of anime but there was a price. Their live action has become wretched. Look at Rurouni Kenshin -- the cartoon series is brilliant, almost perfect. The live action a crude imitation Now is this case the live version is all I saw so maybe the review is incomplete. But this remains a fun "rainy day" film and the action/acting is just fine.Wish there were more like it
ghostaliaz
I just watched it for thousandth time & I will watch this movie a million more times in the future. A totally awesome movie that was underrated when it came out & did not deserve to be because it is a masterpiece of movie greatness. If you like vampires, action, beautiful HD scenery & the most of all that I love this movie for & that is the marvelous sword play. I bought this movie & put it in my movie collection because it deserves to be there. This movie reminds me of when me & my best friend use to come home from school & watch those super cool karate movies of yesterday with cool crazy sleek sword play action, the ones where the the whole females dress is used as a weapon, paper can be thrown to decapitate an opponent, they highly skilled fighters can fly disappear & or jump from building to building with no problem. This movie is a rare diamond that was never found by many people, but us that love great movies know how to dig to find the finest & this movie is one of the finest & earned the rightful spot in my movie collection, so if you like karate movies, great sword play & action & great HD scenery, then go see this movie because it is a wonderful breathe of fresh air & I hope they make other of this series because if so, I will be there to watch & purchase anything that they bring out.
thomvic
I have never seen the anime series, if it is a series or an animated film. I remember seeing the trailer for this movie a while ago, thinking 'wow that looks so cool, gotta see it!'. I have a soft spot for Asian style martial arts with all the flying around Crouching Tiger style as it brings a fantasy into reality on the screen.This movie is simply entertainment face value. The main heroine, I felt gave a decent performance as Saya who brings a beauty and one of those kick ass don't mess with me be warned type of charisma to the character. Her English is decent. The additional character of Alice is more of an annoyance and is simply there to add that whole emotional support in helping Saya be 'more human' and also is there to act as the damsel in distress.The special effects - well sometimes they were alright and sometimes it was a bit laughable. There is too much style used in this movie, and too many cuts, slow mo's that it felt very artificial; though I guess for a film like this it goes for style over substance.The final demon, Onigen, Saya's arch nemesis, is beautiful, played by Japanese actress Koyuki, but her English was a bit difficult to hear sometimes, and I had to find myself paying extra attention to what her threats actually were which reduced the credibility of her as a villain. The climatic fight scene or confrontation felt a bit rushed, which was disappointing considering that scene was really visually eye popping.I should probably watch it again and just enjoy the ride, but that feeling that there could have been a lot more done still resides.
AD
