Ken Ogata (Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters) stars as Igo Gyobu, former clan bigwig who is now the leader of a crack team of ragtag gonin. Their current assignment is to protect the young shogunate heir, Takechiyo. The ailing shogun doesn't like his firstborn and, on the sly, puts the hit on Takechiyo. He plans to have the boy ambushed while Takechiyo is on his way to a ceremony in Edo. The only thing that stands between the boys execution is Gyobu and his men. The group must cross dangerous terrain and encounter hordes of soldiers lead by swordsman Iba Shoemon (Sonny Chiba), a man just as dedicated to Takechiyo's death as Gyobu is to protecting the young, would-be heir.

This is what you call an adventure film. Manly men of derring-do fighting against the odds. The plot is merely a formality to build some action scenes around. The scenes are more a series of movements from one action bit to the next perilous confrontation. The dialogue might as well be, "We must go here.", so then they... you know, go there. Aside from our lead, Gyobu, the characters aren't really fleshed out or given a backstory. His crew of mercenaries do have names, maybe mentioned once, but in terms of depth, distinction is relegated by the physical. There is: the bearded guy, the really old bloodhound-faced guy, the explosives guy, the mute, bald, monkey kung fu guy, and so forth.

Enjoyment of the film hinges on whether you like some cool period costumes and settings as well as a lot of good, old fashioned (or 80's fashioned), ninja action. Aside from some dated blue screen fx when the group is crossing via ropeline between two mountains, the production never feels or looks cheap. The action is all good, from using some sneaky, sneaky ninja skills to rescue their captured comrades from a mine, to eluding throngs of horse backed riders (and, boy, is there some cruelty to horses in this film), or the finale where the remaining band of noble mercenaries are pinned down in an abandoned town and Chiba and Ogata finally go mano y mano, pretty much decimating the town as they lock swords. Though it's violence would get it an "R" rating in the States, it isn't over the top or gratuitous, so I'd venture to guess it was considered a family film in Japan.

The DVD: Adness

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. Overall general sharpness and color details are quite strong and the transfer is well-balanced. The print is nice and clean which helps glean some robust elements. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be progressive, so the transfer has some muted muddled bits. I also noticed some ghosting in one non-action scene, but it appeared to be isolated to that one instance. So, it has flaws but is passable.

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Japanese language with optional English subtitles. The audio is quite good; dialogue and fx are always clear. The score is mostly traditional but, in a it-could-only-come-from-the-80's moment, one action montage has some kick ass 80's metal. If the 80's was good for anything, it delivered some good wailin' metal montages.

Extras: Trailers for the Sonny Chiba Collection

Conclusion: A really fun film. Your basic adventure/ action film with wall-to-wall samurai/ninja goodness that, if you are anything like me, will bring out the kid in you. The transfer has some technical flaws that, luckily, do not deter from the overall enjoyment of the film. Replay value is high and the price is low, so this one gets a recommended.