Originally, I didn't care about this drama. I liked it when I read the comics more than ten years ago, especially the reminiscence chapter, but the author was still in the serialization at that time, so I didn't have the patience to wait. Also watched some animations.
Even more than ten years ago, it was clear that at the beginning of the story, the character setting, especially the cross scar on Kenshin's face, was basically drawn for the sake of being pleasing to the eye and marked as a feature. And the early part of the story also proves that the author didn't hide the story for this scar at all, it's just a decoration. In general, it wasn't until the reminiscence chapter that I started to make a serious fuss about the cross scars.
As for me, I also understand the growth process of Japanese weekly manga serial authors. Most young writers have been serialized for a few years before they have a story of their own heart and show screenwriting ability. So I don't care about Kenshin or Nobuhiro Tsuki.
But when I heard that a live-action movie was going to be made, there was still a lot of resistance.
Actor Takei Saki has the worst performance. The rest of the performances were good. Sato Takeru's normal appearance in Kenshin's performance is not bad. When he fights, his face is calm, which is rare, but the appearance of a ruthless executioner who is addicted to murder is not convincing. In short, there is more than peace, but not enough evil. If Aoki's sublime face was a little lighter, it would be more like Sagara Sainosuke.
Martial arts are difficult, especially the genre of Kenshin, who is good at one person versus many people. From the perspective of the creative direction of the finished film, Japanese martial arts have not been developed. At least sumo, karate, and judo should be used more. When Kenshin is fighting with his bare hands, it is Donnie Yen's style, all kinds of grabbing and pushing. Donnie Yen also has a lot of shadows when fighting knives. It is said that Kenji Tanagaki is a Japanese. For the sake of national morale, he should also develop more things of his own nation. What I can understand is that the language of a certain style of action films cannot be summed up in a day and a half. What I am dissatisfied with is that I don't see Kenji Tanagaki's determination to take over this problem, and I don't see any signs of working hard. It seems that guarding Donnie Yen's toys is enough.
Take a step back and use the existing creative ideas. Nowadays, if you want to meet the standard of fighting action movies, you can only follow the Hong Kong action movie route. Can't complain about this, it's just the different styles of different teams.
In this case, let's get down to the heart and don't want to make achievements. There are two things that are not good at the actual operation level. First of all, one person is playing against many people, and there are too many action actors idle in the picture, which makes the picture look silly. The second is that none of the actions are complete shots taken in medium shots. They are all switched and spliced. Although the explanation is fairly clear, the rhythm is fast and there is no rhythm of succession and transformation. Even if the logic of the picture is clear, it will look chaotic because it is too fast. Thinking about it carefully, doing a whole set of movements is too demanding on the physical fitness and movement skills of the actors, as well as the cooperation between the actors. If it is not trained from a small class, it is basically impossible to complete. Then you can only take the action apart and shoot, and then use the editing to make up. Kenshin's personal action design is still quite full, and the shape is also very good. The movement of the characters in the air is very good. Also, all the falls are very, very good, which is especially commendable!
The overall effect of the martial arts is dazzling enough, but the style is nondescript.
The grand musical part is sometimes redundant, and the violin solo part is good.
The director's creative attitude is very serious. The script is very meticulous, especially when it comes to explaining Jianxin's sad past and the people who love him in front of him. This contrast is very deep, and he fully trusts the audience. The close-up shots of the characters are very tasty.
The composure given by the director to the film is not sophisticated enough, or that composure is intentional, not from the heart. I hope it will become more mature in the future.
From left to right, it looks like Director Otomo has finally finished filming "The Legend of Ryoma", finally got rid of the unsightly Masaharu Fukuyama, and finally can gather handy supporting characters to make a drama of the end of the curtain that he likes.
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