Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends

.... is that you need an even bigger movie to kill them.

A story so big it steals from the characterization and the development of the themes that made the Kenshin tale so interesting in the first place.

I have already questioned why anyone in their right mind would want to spend the better part of 6 hours building up to the "final fight" behind Kenshin and the super-baddie (who is so overdrawn he could just as easily have appeared in a Bond film) ....?

And I see in the IMDb, at least so far, one or two fans have been brave enough to make the very same points I am making.

To be honest, I enjoyed the children's TV series more than this opus. Whether that makes me a poor critic or a child at heart is another matter entirely.

I repeat my view that the point of film is to entertain. If a film fails to entertain, it fails, period.

In this film, the only one who seems to be having fun is Masaharu Fukuyama, playing Kenshin's original Master, conveniently appearing to assist a very tricky plot arc.

The first time he finds Kenshin on the beach, almost dead, he remarks how astonished he was to see his "stupid student" again after almost 15 years.

But he says it with a smile, and we know he is happy to see Kenshin.

At that single juncture, I thought, for one brief shining moment, that this saga was finally going to be fun.

And it was. For the 15 minutes or so that Masaharu Fukuyama appears on camera, we get a peek at what this film might have been.

But just a peek.

When the live action movie of Rurouni Kenshin was announced, I was not pleased. I feared the adaptation would just kill this great story, and because of that, I ignored the installments. Yet here I am, beyond satisfied with the trilogy. Actually, I am thrilled to be alive in a time where stories like this one are respected and loved to be told in such a beautiful way by cast and crew. In every frame, you see the efforts in sound, photography, directing, writing and acting (among others) to make the most enjoyable moment for the audience, whether it's made of anime/manga fans or not. There is only one word to describe the AWESOMENESS in this flawless adaptation: subarashii (magnificent). I thank you all involved. And congratulate you on the marvelous job done.

A reflective first act may prove to be too slow for some viewers, but these moments contain the most imperative lessons for Kenshin in the entire trilogy. This film contains-easily one of the greatest third acts I've ever seen, and any martial arts/action film buff worth their salt needs to see this film. Once again I applaud Satoh Takeru, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenji Tanigaki and the rest for the unbelievable devotion to realizing these dynamic characters as authentically as possible. Aside from some character development gripes, the assuredness of direction, cinematography, pacing, acting-chops, choreography and perhaps most importantly, appreciation for the source material, it's lessons and essence, this is easily one of the best, ( if not the best) in contemporary Japanese action cinema. This trilogy was seriously on point. Purists open your eyes: this is what all adaptations should strive to achieve, creating an ending that is far more impactful, and ultimately improves upon its source. Next to "The Raid", unparalleled fight choreography.

After sleeping three days and dreaming with his master Seijuro Hiko (Masaharu Fukuyama), Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satô) wake up and finds that he was saved by Hiko. Kenshin asks to learn the Hiten Mitsurugi technique, "Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki", to defeat Shishio, and Hiko agrees and trains him. Meanwhile Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara) meets the Prime-Minister Hirobumi Ito (Yukiyoshi Ozawa) that is forced to betray Kenshin declaring that he is a wanted outlaw; otherwise Shishio will destroy Tokyo and the government. What will Kenshin do?

"Rurôni Kenshin: Densetsu no saigo-hen", a.k.a. "Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends" is one of the best trilogies of cinema industry ever. The duel between Kenshin and Shishio is too long but in the end, the good wins the evil. The ending is very sweet and fortunately Kaoru Kamiya has survived. Fortunately the producers have not made another sequel despite the number of fans. It is better off missing Kenshin than seeing a commercial weak sequence only for the box office. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Samurai X 3: O Fim de Uma Lenda" ("Samurai X 3: The End of a Legend")

I've read a few reviews on here about how wishy-washy the action was and the twisting of the plot. As a super fan of Samurai X, I really see no other way of having recast this story without overkill of CGI and long meandering plots. I doff my cap to the producers of this as trying to remake the history up Battousai, leaing up to the final battle with Shshio, was no mean feat. The character replications are exemplary, the sword fights are memorable and even some of the remakes of Kenshin's signature moves are brought to life in the most realistic ways possible. Condensing a series that went 96 episodes + 4 OVAs each going on average 23 min (though up to the Shishio battle would be about eps 50 something) into a trilogy of 2hr 15 min each is not easy, especially while trying to build some level of intimacy and depth with the characters is not easy.

Cons: I' have loved them to develop some characters further, or give the backstory at least (Sojiro, Aoshi and some of the Juppongata) to create more drama and depth, as well as inclide some more epic fight scenes.

Overall: 8/10