Lone Wolf and Cub Sword of Vengeance Review

AKA: Lone Wolf and Cub, Kozure Okami: Kowokashi Udekashi Tsukamatsuru, Wolf with Child in Tow, Wolf with Child in Tow: Child and Expertise for Rent, Shogun Assassin
Genre: Jidaigeki/Ultraviolence/Martial Arts

Year Released: 1972
Distributor: The Benchmark Drove

Origin: Japan
Running Time: 87 minutes
Rating/Recommended Audience: 17+
Related Films/Series: Lone Wolf and Cub: Babe Cart at the River Styx, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril, Lonely Wolf and Cub: Infant Cart In the Land of Demons, Lone Wolf and Cub: White Sky in Hell, Lone Wolf and Cub (1973 TV series), Lone Wolf and Cub (1984 TV Moving-picture show Remake), Lone Wolf With Child: An Assassin on the Road to Hell, Lone Wolf and Cub: Final Disharmonize, Lone Wolf and Cub (2002 TV series remake), Alone Wolf and Cub (upcoming American remake)
For Fans Of: Throne of Blood, Zatoichi, The Virgin Spring, Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Expose, Road to Perdition, Logan, Lady Snowblood
Notes:
-This review reflects the original Japanese uncut version. The Lone Wolf and Cub films were edited and dubbed under the Shogun Assassinator moniker.

-The Criterion Drove DVD box set was used for this review.
Fun Facts:
-Alone Wolf and Cub is based on a manga serial by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. You might know Kazuo Koike as the creator to Crying Freeman, Lady Snowblood, and Samurai Executioner.

-Want to know some fans of the Alone Wolf and Cub serial? Darren Aronovsky has admitted to liking Koike and Kojima's project and even tried to get an American remake, notwithstanding failed. Two graphic novel artists have even admitted to liking his work. That would be Frank Miller of Sin City fame and Max Allan Collins who created Road to Perdition. Collins even admitted to calling Road to Perdition "an unabashed homage" of this manga/pic serial.

-Language bonus: The main character Itto Ogami's ain proper noun is a wordplay to the title. His surname Ogami means "pray", but if you swap out the K with a G, it becomes "Okami" which literally means wolf in Japanese. Since he's a widower dad, it makes perfect sense for him to be codenamed as a solitary wolf while his baby son Daigoro would be the cub in this metaphor.

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Here I go once again reviewing something from the seventies. It'southward only the second time I've critiqued something from that time menstruation as the first film I tackled was the French/Czech sci-fi animated film Fantastic Planet. I'one thousand just doing my best reviewing movies regardless of the decade it was released in and it certainly came out a long time before I was even born. I also realized that it had been awhile since I saw some live-activity samurai films with the terminal one being the criminally overrated sequel to Yojimbo known as Sanjuro (sorry non sorry, Kurosawa fans). I thought I would requite myself a challenge by reviewing the original six films from Koike's debut serial to brand things a little more than heady here at Iridium Eye. Hopefully, you lot oasis't been bored or dislocated despite all of the obscure things I review on this blog.

Onward, to the review!



Alone Wolf and Cub is a series taking place centuries ago in Edo-menstruum Japan. There's a former executioner by the name of Itto Ogami who wanders around Japan with his toddler son Daigoro. Both of them are codenamed "Lone Wolf and Cub" every bit they endeavor to become money for their services which range from random odd services to assassination with the latter being Itto'south de facto specialty given his former job with the shogunate. In his backstory, Itto'due south wife was slaughtered by the Yagyu ninja clan and they likewise frame him for wanting to overthrow the shogunate. Itto is fired from his executioner job and his family name has been shamed. Itto vows revenge against the Yagyu clan for murdering his wife even if information technology ways post-obit the "demon path in hell" in this savage world.

At that place'due south but something cathartic about revenge films for me equally disturbing equally it sounds. It gives some needed face heat for the hero and a good reason why they have purpose in the story fifty-fifty though vengeance itself isn't always the all-time thing to reach (it's something I'm still learning about). Lone Wolf and Cub certainly delivers in that regard with Itto just pulverizing anyone who dares stand in his style in the most gory fashion always. His option to take the demon path as a form of twisted righteousness was surprisingly believable as he knows about the future consequences of his actions in addition to beingness such a common cold killer himself. These fight scenes are over-the-top in blood and the style of fighting involved, but they rarely go to wuxia levels where people are flying everywhere, so there'southward some restraint. Yes, I empathise the irony of calling Alone Wolf and Cub somewhat restrained despite the gore-fest it is, but at least near of the fights are grounded.

Itto is a circuitous anti-hero. Prior to this film, I couldn't think of any single fathers going around killing people within proximity to their kids. That must accept been quite novel doing that and you tin can see elements of papa wolf type characters in media such as Die Hard, Taken, and even The Punisher as the main characters get revenge on anyone that hurt or killed family members. The originality of the state of affairs is something I do appreciate nearly him even though there are some disturbing elements to Itto's character. He is just too stoic in near situations which nigh men would appreciate since he rarely ever emotes unless it's acrimony or seriousness. Despite the comparisons of other action heroes, he'southward dissimilar in diverse ways with him constantly in his son's life, having unorthodox parenting methods to say the least, and Itto isn't some typical six-foot-something guy with rock hard abs since he's a flake overweight. However, he's definitely taken seriously as an activeness hero.



Solitary Wolf and Cub may have some fun activeness scenes and a sympathetic backstory with the main characters, but I couldn't get into the hype of the inaugural picture in this serial. The blood furnishings are incredibly dated much similar Koike's afterward work Lady Snowblood. The blood looks like red acrylic paint being poured around. I likewise had some severe umbrage with the Itto graphic symbol for different things. In the first film, he never loses a fight let alone gets a scratch on him. He'due south in full-on God Mode Marty Stu mode equally he's severing heads and taking names around. Secondly, he'south a character who'due south willing to kill children. Don't believe me? There's an off-screen shot of him committing seppuku against a daimyo heir who doesn't expect that much older than his son Daigoro. Don't even give me that "he's only doing his task" crap. Practise you actually want to put the same words as the Nuremburg Trials like that? There's the iconic scene of Itto putting his sword and brawl on the basis for his baby son to cull. He'south barely one-time enough to talk and he had to selection between living in this demon path by picking the sword or beingness forced to reunite with his murdered mom should he have picked the brawl. Dude, Itto. Calm down. Thirdly, during his visit at the ronin-ran hot springs, he is forced to be unarmed to gain the criminals trust. During that time, some of those same criminals gang rape a woman who is clearly inside earshot of him, yet he did nothing. That really angered me as the gravity of the situation sunk in.



Lonely Wolf and Cub was below mediocre for me and some thrilling fights didn't change that. The production is certainly seventies material, only the blood furnishings were obviously dated for me. The background music is fine fifty-fifty though it gets a fleck muffled with the older audio engineering. The Itto character is circuitous, but I found him to be unintentionally unlikable even though I'm supposed to care about him with existence framed and with his wife being murdered. I didn't like the first to this serial, and I hope that Solitary Wolf and Cub gets better later on this overrated first picture show.

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Adjustable Point System:
Add 2-4 points if you really like bloody activity scenes.
Add 2-3 points if you lot're a Kazuo Koike fan.
Decrease 1-2 points if you lot don't like revenge films

Pros:
-Fun fight scenes
-Sympathetic backstory for Itto and Daigoro
-Decent cinematography

Cons:
-Itto'due south protagonist centered morality
-God Mode Marty Stu tropes on full brandish
-Dated blood furnishings

Final Score: 3/ten points

Content Warning: Information technology'south a Kazuo Koike creation, and so there's no way this would ever exist for kids. The fights are extremely gory as people are beheaded, dismembered, and are bleeding buckets throughout the film. There's nudity with an insane woman breastfeeding Daigoro and there'due south a sex scene with Itto sleeping with a prostitute. I did take an result with Itto killing a child off-screen and that fridge horror just sinks in as part of his duties every bit a shogunate executioner. Oh yeah, at that place's some swearing and some double entendres, too.

-Curtis Monroe

All photos property of their respective owners and used nether Usa "Fair Use" laws. Lone Wolf and Cub is belongings of Kazuo Koike, Toho, and The Criterion Collection. The moving picture poster is from Wikipedia and is property of Toho.

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Source: https://iridiumeye.wordpress.com/2018/03/03/lone-wolf-and-cub-sword-of-vengeance-review/

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