Goemon: O Robin Hood do Japão

I saw the movie in a private preview so it might have technically gotten even better since then or the web trailers.

Actually, I am glad that the web trailer is nothing revealing. Let the people get the real thing where they should get it: in the cinemas. I rather hate those movies that pack the trailer with best they have and then there's nothing left than those 30 seconds of glory.

A pity I can't talk about the story to avoid spoilers, at this time I would just explain why it was excellent for me:

*the way Kiriya re-wrote this little piece of history and made a great thing out of it and one worth watching in a movie.

*it has anything that a blockbuster shall have but keeps a pure and decent heart and yes, done at an extremely low budget under one million $.

*the CG is (in my opinion) not intended to look like Iron Man Hollywood stuff but rather like Final Fantasy and I really hope people not being snobs about this because this is not the point. Besides, I never felt that the CG isn't good or not good enough, I didn't even feel it was a CG because the story moves on so fast and takes you in its stream, you don't have the time or need to think twice.

*there are no gaps and goofs or illogical actions in the story line

*the style is very solid: the mix of Asian/Western costume design or architecture is continuous through the entire movie and nothing looks like a mistake or an accident or bad taste. The mix of true historical elements and modern elements (dance, etc) keeps things real while traditional elements (like the firefly) constantly remind us it's also a fairy tale that we are watching.

*you will get to see all martial arts you would dream of and better than that though you will not get tired with repetitive & unnecessary war/fight scenes.

*the cinematography is amazing at all times thanks to the elaborate costumes and architecture but the way that camera moves is one of the best new things too.

*all actors match their roles, great casting and especially the lead actor Eguchi Yosuke is so universally good, he could stand right next to Johny Depp in let's say Pirates of the Caribbean and be as good at it. By not looking extremely Asian, he could be a Latino, European, someone rather easy to identify with for the rest of the world besides the Japanese viewers. Hirosue Ryoko is also a wise choice and quite familiar to us from her earlier international hit Wasabi or the recent Academy Awards winning "Departure"(Okuribito)

Last I shall say, I'm not that much into (Japanese) directors trying rather desperately to impress the (Western) world through their forced/artsy/bloody/cruel/avant-garde/decadent/sexual stuff, I think a nicely shot good story is what we all badly need and this is the hardest part of it to get a thing that will improve human race. I am convinced that Goemon will do.

This fantastic tale of Goemon, a master-less shinobi turned master-thief, is a compelling action drama, with some genuinely funny light-hearted moments.

Like a mixture of Batman and Robin Hood, Goemon is a man unto himself, and a national hero. He lives by his own rules until his self-proclaimed freedom meets his past, and one robbery starts a chain of events set to turn his life upside down.

It's a great story of vengeance and betrayal, and if you add that to some great acting by the leads Yôsuke Eguchi (Goemon), and Takao Osawa (Saizo), and put it all through the beautifully shot stylings of Japanese cinema, you get this enthralling piece.

Only a couple of clichés in plot development and editing stop me from scoring the film higher, but with such minor faults, I couldn't recommend it more!

I've always like the Japanese History, and often got disappointed with some of the movies that try to rewrite the storyline. But i was actually impress by Kazuaki Kiriya for an attemp to do it with Goemon, using parts of the Japanese era to combine it and fit into Goemon. The bad side is sometimes he tries to hard expain the background of the story and it become dragging in the first 20mins of the movie while also getting to confuse the audience. It should be more plain and simple story background as so much history character has been involved. overall i have come to see the style of Kazuaki Kiriya and this is what i came to see the movie for. But i could see an improvement on Kiriya attempt this time round. I do not want to comment about the over using of CG and background as its one of the style of Kiriya. Acting wise only Takao Osawa who portray Saizo score greatly on my books. Gori was a huge disappointment. I'm a big fan of Yosuke Eguchi but he seem not holding his role too well to make an impact. I will always remember the part of goemon buro, as the story took a complete twist from the real history which kiriya and Osawa hugly impress me for this part onwards.

Neverless i will be also waiting to get a blueray verion of this for the parts which impress me and Osawa acting on this. Anyway Kiriya has make some improvement.

"Legend of Goemon" reminded me of of "Casshern", that movie was also directed by Kazuaki Kiriya. The movie is a feast for the eyes from the beginning till the end, and superior to Casshern in acting, music, story and character-development.

Also, the budget of this movie was a mere 9 million dollars!!! "Ninja Assassin", from last year, made in Hollywood, was produced on a 40 million dollar budget and is a lesser movie in all areas compared to "Legend of Goemon".

I totally agree with all the positive reviews of this movie and want to only mention that if you're looking for a live-action anime kind of movie and you like moveis with lots of ninja-action you MUST watch legend of Goemon as soon as possible!

Goemon proved an Asian box office hit on its cinematic release. Helmed with a bold fresh eye for visuals by Casshern director Kiriya Kazuaki, Goemon is a multi-layered historic action epic tinged with fantasy and impressive swordplay. With elements of Western legends such as Robin Hood and the mythical Pandora's Box thrown in, Goemon is ultimately the story of one man's battle with his need to be free and his destiny.

The film perhaps would've been better in two parts, or even as a trilogy, to allow time to completely unlock each integral character's own story and ambitions.

Goemon is a stunning visual treat, but too convoluted in essential plot points. Undoubtedly watchable, it falls short of the epic it wants to be by simply trying much too hard. JM