Baby Cart: Le territoire des démons

This is the fifth of six films of the Lone Wolf & Cub Series. A clan offers to hire Lone Wolf Ogami Itto for an assassination but they want to test his skills. They set five individual warriors upon him, each to test a certain skill. After each is defeated, the warrior is to give part of the story and a fifth of the payment. Upon defeating the fifth warrior, he is finally given his full mission.

Of the five, the poisoning is the most dramatic and the most interesting. The story is relatively simple except the side trip with the Cub. It's interesting that the Cub has his own little adventure. As always, Lone Wolf and Cub do a mass slaughter in the end. My only concern is that he has kill a little girl. It doesn't matter how bratty the girl gets. He still kills a little girl but I still like the massacre. I also really like Cub having his own adventure.

Where the Lone Wolf and Cub adventure has been delightfully frenetic up to this point, the fifth film is a decided change of pace. Much more deliberate and pensive, Baby Cart in the Land of Demons spends an unusual amount of time in one place, toying with a more nuanced (at times even confusing) story, while also fleshing out an important supporting character. Young Daigoro, stone-faced son of the wandering master at the center of this great storm, finally gets his close-up and proves to be every bit as determined, soft-spoken and unflappable as his father. His scenes are the ones that stuck with me afterward, resonating in a way that felt fresh while also remaining loyal to the saga's identity. Daddy, meanwhile, has his hands full with a difficult five-pronged onslaught and a pair of complex, intertwined kill contracts. His actions at the film's climax once more cast the character in dark grey fabric, a recurring theme for the series, and prove that (where duty is concerned) he hasn't changed all that much from the very first time we met. Less visceral and rubber-tendoned than any of the earlier entries, and perhaps overly ambitious with that tangled primary storyline, it's good stuff if a touch below the standard its brethren have thus far maintained. An outlier in many ways.

There might come a time, where some might get fed up or at least might not be as excited about something that is going on for seemingly forever. Then again, who can say no to nudity and blood mayhem all over the place? Well maybe quite a few can, but bare with me on this. Or with the movie for that matter, because that is more important of course.

Apart from the main actor, the cub might be the same one too. Since they made them back to back, it is possible. And while especially part 2 and 3 had some innovations gadget and gimmick wise, those are being now repeated or re-used I reckon. That's not overall a bad thing, but just so you know. Not sure where the anime went, but it is obvious that this had something to rely back on. Those who loved the previous entries (though you can watch them however you like almost - except from the evolution of the "weapons"), will like this too - or even love it. Dependng on your taste of course.

These movies were infamous for their incredibly brutal and bloody swordplay sequences, but equally impressive IMHO was the leading actor- Tomisaburo Wakayama a.k.a. "Lone Wolf" was surely the greatest martial arts star ever. The command and authority with which he wielded a sword (and other weapons) was just phenomenal. The blade truly was an extension of himself, and his use of it was the definition of lethal, with none of the unnecessary/show-off flourishes so desperately thrown about by today's wannabes. He had incredible presence and charisma- easily on a par with the likes of say Eastwood or Bronson- with eyes that reflected pure death, and the desolation in his soul. There were moments in the "Babycart" series where you'd swear he was the personification of his namesake, the Wolf. You never doubted for one second that he WAS shogun executioner, masterless samurai, assassin for hire. One look at him in action, and you could readily understand why his enemies trembled at the mention of his name, and ran from him in sheer terror. Alas, Lone Wolf is one with void now, but his legend will live on forever in these films.

Forget Toshiro Mifune. Forget Takakura Ken. Forget Sonny Chiba. Forget Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, and any of those wire-reliant ballet dancers from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. And CERTAINLY forget any American martial artists that you could care to name. Tomisaburo Wakayama was, is, and forever shall be, THE MAN!

Even though all the festival-scenes are a sub-plot that adds little to nothing to the story, I find this an excellent film. The idea and the enactment of the five Samurai, each giving Ogami a part of his mission as their dying words, exemplifies the value of loyalty and truth above all. In all the Lone Wolf films honor is considered the highest value, and there is a continuous presence of morality throughout the series. In this film I was touched by the incredible loyalty of all the Samurais of the Kuroda clan. Even when on fire, fatally wounded or bleeding from every orifice, they still continue to serve their clan. In fact they care so much for their clan that they hire Ogami to kill their own, perverted masters, because their actions bring dishonor and great danger to the clan.

Story-wise certainly the most elaborate of the Lone Wolf films, I found this one to be the best.