Don't get me wrong. It is an okay film, but there is a severe lack of action throughout most of the movie's running time that does begin to grate after an hour or so.
Clive Owen is a reasonable casting choice as the dark and moody leader of a warrior clan seeking revenge for an injustice done to their master. It is a by-the-numbers tale of revenge that could have done quite well if a few things had been altered slightly.
Chief amongst these is the lack of anything like grittiness to the action sequences (you get one at the beginning and one at the end - that's your lot). There isn't any blood, or limbs being lopped off, or anything like that. It is purely non-messy swordplay that, whilst done reasonably well, has no weight to it because of the lack of gore.
Add in the overlong apparent descent into despair by the main character (designed to fool his enemies into thinking him not a threat) and what you have are two action sequences book-ending an otherwise painfully pedestrian set-up to that final action piece.
If the final action scenes were exceptional, I could forgive the slow pace of the rest of the movie, but the truth is they aren't anything special. Workman-like is the best way to describe it. Stuff you have seen before in countless other movies.
The final showdown between Clive Owen's character and his nemesis is weak and disappointing as is the rather obvious replay of events from the start of the movie, with Owen replacing his mentor Morgan Freeman and falling on his proverbial sword to save his men.
Wait... Haven't I seen this movie before? Yup, the plot has most of the same beats as 47 Ronin, which I liked a whole lot more.
On the plus side, the musical score is quite nice, if a bit overwhelming at times. Definitely the high point of the movie for me, which otherwise is nothing you won't have seen before.
SUMMARY: Nice music, shame about the pacing. Literally just two action set-pieces and the pay off for the final one is not very satisfying. Not terrible, just not that good.
Clive Owen is a reasonable casting choice as the dark and moody leader of a warrior clan seeking revenge for an injustice done to their master. It is a by-the-numbers tale of revenge that could have done quite well if a few things had been altered slightly.
Chief amongst these is the lack of anything like grittiness to the action sequences (you get one at the beginning and one at the end - that's your lot). There isn't any blood, or limbs being lopped off, or anything like that. It is purely non-messy swordplay that, whilst done reasonably well, has no weight to it because of the lack of gore.
Add in the overlong apparent descent into despair by the main character (designed to fool his enemies into thinking him not a threat) and what you have are two action sequences book-ending an otherwise painfully pedestrian set-up to that final action piece.
If the final action scenes were exceptional, I could forgive the slow pace of the rest of the movie, but the truth is they aren't anything special. Workman-like is the best way to describe it. Stuff you have seen before in countless other movies.
The final showdown between Clive Owen's character and his nemesis is weak and disappointing as is the rather obvious replay of events from the start of the movie, with Owen replacing his mentor Morgan Freeman and falling on his proverbial sword to save his men.
Wait... Haven't I seen this movie before? Yup, the plot has most of the same beats as 47 Ronin, which I liked a whole lot more.
On the plus side, the musical score is quite nice, if a bit overwhelming at times. Definitely the high point of the movie for me, which otherwise is nothing you won't have seen before.
SUMMARY: Nice music, shame about the pacing. Literally just two action set-pieces and the pay off for the final one is not very satisfying. Not terrible, just not that good.