Shogun's Shadow (1989)
A shogun's eldest son must do whatever it takes to survive a series of attempts on his life. He receives much-needed aid from seven warriors who are led by a strong leader.
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An Exercise In Nonsense
A different way of telling a story
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
I love this movie! This is a fast-paced action movie from 1989. Even though it can be considered a jidaigeki (Edo period drama), in many aspects (pacing, character development, gore) it reminds me of the Shaw brothers wuxia movies. What it lacks in depth and intricacy, Shogun's Shadow more than makes up in action sequences, above average camera-work and matching soundtrack. For samurai buffs, who like hardcore, slow-paced Edo-epics, this might be a bit cheesy, but for people (including myself) who love movies such as The Five Deadly Venoms or Invincible Shaolin, Shogun's Shadow will be an entertaining 1 hour 46 minutes with sword-slashing ronin, epic standoffs and some banging J-rock interludes.
At first this movie is a Sword battle, it then turns into a Drama/Action movie.The characters are great, and the fight scenes are almost Unreal. This unrealism makes it even more exciting. Sword fighters jumping from Trees 100 feet to the ground. Intense slashing scenes coupled with nice disciplined moves.There are great characters in the movie and it has a real feel to it. I almost at one point felt like I was in the 1800's following in on the action.All in all I would say this movie is just nothing but great!
This was a cool samurai/adventure film. Lots of swordplay action, and lots of other cool action scenes too. Too bad Sonny Chiba's not in it more than he is though. He plays the main villain, so we don't get to follow him as much as the team of heroes.The story is about a child who is the heir to become the next shogun, but the bad guys doesn't want that. They want some other kid to become the next shogun instead. Anyway, to become the next shogun the kid has to be in a certain temple at a certain time, and it's up to the good guys to get him there, and the bad guys try to stop them.This is pop-samurai action at its best. Go look for it.
This is a great movie, if you don't take it too seriously. The hero-characters are very different from each other, and their unique abilities makes them a great team. I love this movie - it's great fun to watch.