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"You bury anything that doesn't look good" Then Kenshin ought to be safe!
I enjoyed Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends more than the previous film. As with Kyoto Inferno, I’m completely unfamiliar with the source material and only discuss my opinion based on what I saw on the screen.
As with all good martial arts films, when the hero gets his rearend handed to him, it’s time for a training montage! Kenshin has to face his sensei and his demons in order to learn the ultimate sword technique. Shishio is terrorizing the government and people with his big, metal warship loaded with powerful guns and cannons. Kenshin not only has to confront Shishio and his minions, but also the ninja Aoshi who has a grudge against the handsome samurai. Fortunately for Kenshin, he will have hot-headed buddy Sanosuke and ‘too cool for school’ Saito to help him in his final fight.
Now that everyone and their motivations had been identified, the fighting could begin. Shishio had a right to feel angry and betrayed but murdering innocent civilians wasn’t an appropriate way to act on his feelings. Aoshi’s hostility seemed to be aimed at the wrong person. I guess a guy has to have a hobby. Sanosuke was more useful in this film than the last and found someone just as hard-headed as himself to battle. Saito never got rattled even when fighting an enemy with a flaming sword that caused explosions. And of course, our favorite scarred samurai was all trained up for the big fight. This is one of those times a real sword would have come in handy as his inability to stop an equally skilled opponent with non-lethal hits only put his companions lives in mortal danger.
The training scenes may have gone on too long, but overall, the film was well-paced. The fights were cleverly choreographed and shot which is always important in this type of action film. This time Kaoru managed to not get kidnapped although she was almost splatted by canon fire for hanging out on a battlefield sightseeing. I’m counting it as a win.
I’ve watched several of the films out of order except for Inferno and this one. I’m disappointed to be finished with the franchise as Satoh Takeru has been fun to watch as the pain-filled samurai who was always ready to help the downtrodden. “Salute the samurais!” And maybe give them a ride home, they had a rough day.
8 March 2025
As with all good martial arts films, when the hero gets his rearend handed to him, it’s time for a training montage! Kenshin has to face his sensei and his demons in order to learn the ultimate sword technique. Shishio is terrorizing the government and people with his big, metal warship loaded with powerful guns and cannons. Kenshin not only has to confront Shishio and his minions, but also the ninja Aoshi who has a grudge against the handsome samurai. Fortunately for Kenshin, he will have hot-headed buddy Sanosuke and ‘too cool for school’ Saito to help him in his final fight.
Now that everyone and their motivations had been identified, the fighting could begin. Shishio had a right to feel angry and betrayed but murdering innocent civilians wasn’t an appropriate way to act on his feelings. Aoshi’s hostility seemed to be aimed at the wrong person. I guess a guy has to have a hobby. Sanosuke was more useful in this film than the last and found someone just as hard-headed as himself to battle. Saito never got rattled even when fighting an enemy with a flaming sword that caused explosions. And of course, our favorite scarred samurai was all trained up for the big fight. This is one of those times a real sword would have come in handy as his inability to stop an equally skilled opponent with non-lethal hits only put his companions lives in mortal danger.
The training scenes may have gone on too long, but overall, the film was well-paced. The fights were cleverly choreographed and shot which is always important in this type of action film. This time Kaoru managed to not get kidnapped although she was almost splatted by canon fire for hanging out on a battlefield sightseeing. I’m counting it as a win.
I’ve watched several of the films out of order except for Inferno and this one. I’m disappointed to be finished with the franchise as Satoh Takeru has been fun to watch as the pain-filled samurai who was always ready to help the downtrodden. “Salute the samurais!” And maybe give them a ride home, they had a rough day.
8 March 2025
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