1972 samurai movieRating: 17/20
Plot: Anti-hero Ogami Itto and his child are still on the quiet run from the Yagyu clan. The Yagyus seek help from a group of deadly female ninjas (that's right, deadly female ninjas) who seem eager and well-equiped to chop men into pieces. At the same time, Itto is employed (he is, after all, an assassin for hire) to kill a guy who is going to give away the secrets of a successful dye-making business to the Shogunate. That guy is guarded by three brothers with gigantic hats and deadly garden implements. One straps a rake to his hand! They're the Gods of Death! So, he's got female ninjas to the left of him, murderous gardeners to the right, and more tricks in his baby cart than Inspector Gadget's got in his ass. Limbs get strewn about.
This was even better than the first--bloodier, more action-packed, more stylish. The "Cub" has a more interesting role, sort of like Maggie in The Simpsons in a way, and the minor characters (really only introduced to the saga to die violently) are really interesting (loved the three brothers and the head female ninja especially). But it's the main character who brings the coolness. Eyes like Bronson! Itto is fast becoming my favorite samurai character. Nothing against Zatoichi, but I've never seen that blind son of a bitch chop off this many limbs or split skulls in half. The deadpan expression as the blood sprays is just perfect. There's not much difference in feel between this and the first in the series. There was more exposition in the first while this one could just jump right into the blood spilling goodness. If I'm remembering correctly, this one does have a little more style--nifty shots more typical of Japanese samurai films and some weird camera play and trickery and large chunks of the movie that flow in silence. Can't wait to see part three! I'm hoping the films continue to gradually get more darker and more violent although I honestly can't see the latter being all that possible.
No picture of me watching this is available. I watched it at school on the big screen when I was probably supposed to be doing something else.
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