Afro Samurai: Resurrection

I really liked the Afro Samurai anime series. It was lots of fun. But I didn't realize there had been a movie sequel until 15 years later. Excitedly, I sat down to watch it, and, uh ... what?

It starts with a fight, and stuff happens, and the unstoppable protagonist somehow gets the prize he worked the whole series to get snatched away by some rando, and then he's, I guess, going to kinda do what he did in the series all over again, except this time to protect his father's ghost?

What?

Anyway, it was just an incomprehensible mess, and after about a half hour I couldn't take it anymore. I'm hugely disappointed.

Reading the reviews of others it seems that the Afro Samurai film is one that people tend to either love or hate and personally I can see both sides because I think that the film is somewhere in the middle as it is effective for what it is but not without problems. The first thing to note is that, as with the series proper, Afro Samurai delivers what the target audience are looking for with hip-hop, violence, cool animation and excessive fight sequences. It doesn't do it as well as the series does though and I think this is why some viewers will have been disappointed in it. I did like it but cannot ignore the problems that come with it.

It seems unreasonable to complain about the plot with a product such as this but it is hard not to in this instance. The film mould means that the plot is more obvious than in the series (where the overall quest was stretched out) and it is a bit daft, with zombies, cyborgs and the like all coming into play. The relationships and motivations are a lot more complex (confused?) as well and the downside of this is that the film feels cluttered and too busy to get involved in. It still works in regards creating action sequences though and this is where the film delivers. OK so the final fights are slightly spoilt by the robotic aspects but up till then there are plenty of attractive and stylish moments including one in a busy carnival that I found really well done.

It is not quite as cool as the series though because the use of music is not as good. The hip-hop comes and goes but is rarely used well. Also missing is, and I hate to use this phrase, the sense of "urban cool". The series felt "black", it felt tough it felt cool. Here that is not so much the case. Partly this is down to the plot line that tries to do something with the main character that the delivery cannot produce but the main thing is the way that Ninja Ninja is annoying. I know the point of him is that he talks so much but it is meant to annoy those within the film, not those of us watching. It didn't annoy in the series but his dialogue grates here. Credit to Jackson for doing it though because his cool presence is a good fit, but he pushes Ninja Ninja too far one way while taking Afro too far in the other by being too gruff. Liu, Hamill, Lowenthal and a few others all do good work but don't have the material to make a difference.

The Afro Samurai movie will mostly please those that have come for the style, since this is what it is all about. The plot negatively affects the film, almost getting in the way of the style and the flow rather than allowing it to happen. It still does enough to satisfy fans of the genre but it is not as enjoyable or as effective as the series was.

"Afro Samurai: Resurrection" has finally landed on DVD!

As a fan of Japanese animation (Anime'), hip-hop, future-tense technology, martial arts movies, samurai movies and (sometimes) blaxploitation flicks, I was instantly enthralled by the 2007 pseudo-style Anime' "Afro Samurai" two years ago when I was able to catch parts of it during its short run on Spike TV. Like its predecessor, I missed the first of many sequels, "Afro Samurai: Resurrection," during its run on Spike TV.

"Afro Samurai" and its sequel remain strong personal favorites because they blend all of hip-hop, Anime', future-tense technology, martial arts movies, samurai movies, and blaxploitation flicks into one explosively entertaining and violent piece of Japanese Anime'-style slice-'em-up.

As you remember from the first series, Afro Samurai (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) had embarked on a lonely, lifelong quest of vengeance to obtain the Number-One Headband, after witnessing his father die in a fight against newly-crowned Number-One Justice (voiced in that series by Ron Perlman). Well, Afro eventually cut down his adversary, after being trained years earlier by a legendary sword master and obtaining the Number-Two Headband.

In "Afro Samurai: Resurrection," Afro's reign as Number-One is cut short when he is ambushed by Sio (voiced by Lucy Liu), a shapely assassin who is on her own crusade of vengeance against Afro because he killed members of her family while on his mission to become Number-One. Together with the diabolically twisted Professor Dharman, her older brother, the teddy bear-headed cyborg swordsman Kuma (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal), their three cyber-enhanced siblings and a slew of disposable, bargain-basement ninjas, Sio plans to resurrect Afro's slain father, for an apocalyptic final battle between father and son. So Afro, together with his sidekick Ninja Ninja (also voiced by Jackson), must again walk the path of the warrior, the path of violence and bloodshed, and once again become Number-One.

Now here is a sequel that lives up to its predecessor, and doesn't disappoint in delivering full-on, animated samurai action. Unlike most sequels, it actually lives up to expectations in being a great follow-up to a recent classic. Most importantly, it's a sequel that's on equal grounds with its predecessor; a few marks in terms of storytelling and characterization keep this second entry from being superior. And it's still way too concerned with style over substance. However, these are only minor grievances in what is a mostly superior second outing.

But there is a lot to like in "Afro Samurai: Resurrection." Series creator Takashi Okazaki expands greatly on the futuristic, feudal Japanese world he unveiled for the first time two years ago. Director Fuminori Kizaki has greatly improved the animation from the first film, which here, more heavily combines elements of Japanese culture and hip-hop culture. Here, both the animation and picture are also very crisp and crystal-clear, giving the "Afro Samurai" universe a few eerie, beautiful shades of vibrant color that reminds one of looking at a Japanese painting.

I've always thought that because Afro Samurai is such a stoic, one-dimensional character, the baddies are usually far more interesting, and here they don't disappoint. "Afro Samurai" and "Afro Samurai: Resurrection" are most notable for having one of the most impressive rogues' galleries in any animated piece I've seen from Japan. There is absolutely nothing sexier than Lucy Liu's purple-eyed Sio, who is not only very deadly in her own right, but she also displays enough ample cleavage that it's a wonder her chest doesn't bust out of her kimono at any given moment. And then there's also her tragic brother Kuma, now more machine than man, doing his best Darth Vader impersonation as a tragic and sympathetic villain wielding two swords, instead of one, and riding around on the most awesomely bad-ass chopper I've ever seen in this series.

The last great thing about "Afro Samurai: Resurrection" is its soundtrack. Like the soundtrack to its predecessor, it was produced by hip-hop producer The RZA (also co-founder of the Wu-Tang Clan). It blares up during the most intense action, and features songs by legendary hip-hop greats such as Ghostface Killah and Inspectah Deck (both of the Wu-Tang Clan), Kool G. Rap, Rah Digga, Wu-Tang Clan affiliates such as Christ Bearer, Killah Priest and Prodigal Sunn, and finally The RZA himself. There's also more music from R & B crooners Stone Mecca, Thea van Seijen, and the legendary Sly Stone. And don't ask how or why, but an appearance on one track by System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian rounds out this killer soundtrack.

To sum it up, "Afro Samurai: Resurrection" is not better than its predecessor, but is on equal grounds with it. It successfully expands on the universe created in "Afro Samurai," one that's full of colorful characters, animation, great hip-hop songs, and vicious violence.

At the end of the day, Afro Samurai is still just a lil' dude wit' a head full of hair.

10/10

The film is mostly filled with violence and just boring dialogue - like the series, but just copies the series badly and with no purpose. Do not watch this film unless you really enjoyed the series.

Brooding, laconic badass Afro Samurai and his wisecracking alter ego Ninja Ninja (both voiced by Samuel Jackson) once again return to walk the path of demons as a sultry villainess (voiced by Lucy Liu) steals Afro's Number One headband and plots her revenge that involves resurrecting Afro's dead father. The refreshing and intriguing combination of blaxploitation, samurai culture, anime and hip hop (soundtrack by usual suspect RZA) that made the first one such an infectiously cool hack-and-slash yarn is pretty much of the same standards but this time it's let down by a silly story and disappointing ending that was clearly not very well thought out. How easy Afro loses his headband at the beginning of the film left me scratching my head in disbelief but Teddy Bear's change of heart at the end was downright lame. Whereas the first worked so well exactly because of the very simple revenge story - Afro, wearing the Number Two headband, looking for the man who killed his father, all the while having to defend his headband from an assortment of colourful villains, not very different to a video game logic and very enjoyable for that matter - Afro Samurai: Resurrection throws everything and the kitchen sink in the plot and hopes it all makes sense somehow. I also had the impression the gore and blood geysers were less this go around. Fans of the first will probably have a good time as the funky and bloody style are good enough for 90 minutes of brainless fun but take it any more serious and you might be in for a let down.