SYNOPSIS:
Warlord
Toyotumi Hideyoshi rises to power in the late 16th century
after the assassination of his lord Oda Nobunaga. In these
chaotic times, chivalrous bandit Goemon rises as a hero among
commoners, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
In one of his many escapades, he steals a box from a merchant
and passes it off to a street urchin. But this turns out to
be no ordinary box as warlord Toyotumi's right-hand man Ishida
soon sends ninja and childhood friend Saizo after Goemon.
What's more, a mysterious swordsman and legendary ninja under
the orders of Hideyoshi's rival Tokugawa Leyasu also join
in the fray, leading to immense sword-fighting for the box
and the secret that lies within...
MOVIE REVIEW:
The popular folk hero bandit Goemon comes to life in director Kazuaki Kiriya's big-budget extravaganza "Goemon", the former music video director and fashion photographer's sophomore film after the critically acclaimed 2004 hit "Casshern". Like Kiriya's former, this is also a blue-screen affair- and like many movies of the ilk, one cannot help but notice the similarities to Hollywood's definitive blue-screen movie "300".
Kiriya introduces his titular character as Japan's version of Robin Hood, robbing from the rich to give to the poor. But this time the house he picks to rob happens to belong to Mitsuhide Akechi, military commander to slain warlord Lord Nobunaga, who is also subsequently killed. Nobunaga's successor is the arrogant and power-hungry Hideyoshi Toyomi, and Hideyoshi has dispatched his men to raid Akechi's property for riches.
At the start, Goemon is no more than a carefree, light-hearted thief but Kiriya slowly reveals him to be much more. Indeed, Goemon turns out to be a deftly skilled ninja who was once under the tutelage of the legendary Hattori Hanzo. His once-fellow disciple and close friend, Saizo (Takao Osawa) is working for Mitsunari, one of Hideyoshi's right hand man, and their fortuitous confrontation one day enlightens Goemon to the reality of the world he is living in, a world ruled by men whose hunger for power has cost thousands of lives and made peace ever more hazy.
In its message of peace, Kiriya's film makes a prescient point about man's insatiable appetite for dominion and the futility of war in the journey of peace. Kiriya uses his titular character to good effect in order to connect with his audience, portraying the injustice and the senselessness of it all, especially when lives are lost and families are shattered. Though its lesson is clear, Kiriya's film surprisingly lacks the emotional impact that it should have- chiefly due to the fact that one doesn't seem to identify much with Goemon.
To that extent, Kiriya only has his CG to blame. It's one thing to accept that a film is no more than an action fantasy, it's another when it becomes too fantastical to be anywhere near true- and that is the problem with "Goemon". There are multiple sequences where Goemon shoots up high into the sky and comes down with equally amazing speed to take out his opponent- cool though it may look, there's nary an air of believability to it and prevents Goemon from being a down-to-earth character that one can relate to. It doesn't help too that Kiriya's CG-scapes are often too beautiful for their own good, distracting one's attention from the story or the characters in it.
Not that either are interesting enough to hold your attention throughout- Kiriya's story suffers from over-plotting and at more than two hours, is too convoluted for its own good. As a result, the characterization also suffers. In fact, rather ironically, the supporting characters turn out more consistent in nature than our lead character, whom you never know when to take seriously or when to indulge with in a little fun.
Mostly, Goemon seems too similar to the folk legend of the West, Robin Hood, and consequently, the character loses its distinctive personality that would otherwise have made this a uniquely original Oriental movie. Even its blue-screen techniques resemble Hollywood's own "300", especially the climactic battle at the end between Goemon and Hideyoshi. Kiriya certainly is a visionary when it comes to cinematic visuals, but he stills needs more time to craft a good story with strong characters- and "Goemon" is proof of that.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
NIL.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio is strong on the bass but otherwise doesn’t do justice to a film that could easily have benefited from a more immersive rear speaker experience. Visuals tend to look oversaturated and could use better contrast.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING:
Review by Gabriel Chong
Posted on 26 May 2010
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