Azumi

Japan 2003, 128 minutes
Dir. Ryuhei Kitamura
In Japanese with English subtitles
Rating: [R]
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Action/Adventure / Martial Arts

Feat. Aya Ueto, Shun Oguri, Kenji Kohashi

Aroview: The dir. of VERSUS advances to a studio-scale budget for this historical action yarn, set around a skilled swords-woman in ancient feudal Japan, who is recruited into the dynastic struggles between the ruling Shogun and various warlords.

Although tripping into some of the stereotypes of the genre, this bolsters its chances with some edgy and extensive blood-letting (a la KILL BILL), with plenty of CGI effects adding to its cartoonish tone.