Dororo

Dororo has a wonderful story and great acting. Unlike some people, I have the ability to enjoy a well written, well acted story and can easily forgive issues that I am sure budget constraints had a hand in.

I understand that there are some scenes that are beyond the budget, but in my opinion they were handled very well.

The protagonist and his companion were easy to like and understand. The story had some nice twist. The story was so well told that I had my Wife watch it and she hates this genre. Well she does not get it sometimes. She really loved the film! It is not too gory and as far as gravity defying stunts, well it is a fantasy tale and there really were not a lot of them. And they were no where near as physics defying as any of the Transporter films. This is a very good film.

I love the visual imagery in this movie it is so WEIRD! Dororo is a story that I can't really tell you too many details about without blowing the plot and the surprises but suffice it to say if you like to see Japanese demons represented on screen you should WATCH THIS! It's super cool. Lots of good kung fu which is rare for most Japanese films that have a fantasy tilt to them lots of awesome monsters for our hero to fight, and an excellent character foil in the form of a female thief sidekick for comic relief. This movie reminded me of a real-actor version of Ninja Scroll the epic anime that will go down in history as one of the coolest visual candy anime's for it's time.

This uses real life actors and a combination of costumes and cgi for the demons. Occasionally the special effects are rubber suits but it's still good enough to tell the story. With a bigger budget they could have really gone over the top with the special effects but oh well... this still kicks ass as a script and a story and the visuals are still awesome.

If you are in the mood to lose your mind, eat some mushrooms and watch this movie... it'll freak you out with all the weird fantasy creatures in it.

Plot - a demon killer hunts down the meaning of his existence while trying to purge himself of his own demon status and become human. His sidekick is a female thief with a big mouth and he is the typical quiet swordsman that can tear apart a room if need be. they travel on the road by foot and meet several demons on the way.

Awesome.

Dororo is a great genre film. It's an adventure movie kind of akin to a live action 'Ninja Scroll'. In fact, by keeping a simple, straightforward plot (boy's father pledges a number of his unborn son's body parts to demons in exchange for power - years later the boy is a man, and back for revenge) it elevates itself head-and-shoulders above most films of it's kind, as well as the manga and anime equivalents, which tend toward overly complicated and downright convoluted, soap opera-ish plots.

On the other hand, it falls prey to many of the problems of those genres - perpetuating the trend. Problems that include science defying scenes (a little in a fantasy film is O.K., but it gets to a point where... well, suspension of disbelief becomes impossible... no one, let alone an infant is going to survive even a minute without a heart) of which ludicrously over-the-top wire work is just one small part.

To be fair, action movies have been getting dumber, and with more "gimme-a-break" moments worldwide (any British action film starring Jason Statham, or recent Hollywood efforts such as 'Wanted'), still, it leaves one asking do we really need another film in this vein? Movies like Dororo', and 'Hero', are a far cry from the believable samurai pictures of a master like Kurusawa and Mizoguchi.

Still, it's pacing is far better than most, resisting the temptation to have non-stop fight scenes, and a dash of restrained humor thrown in for good measure. And it's fun to catch all the little homages to other films - everything from 'Edward Scissorhands' to 'A Fistful of Dollars'.

If you love the genre, you will love 'Dororo'. If you even like the genre, you will probably really like 'Dororo'. If you don't, it's definitely not going to convert you, and despite it's superiority within the genre, is unlikely to impress you favorably.

I was really pained to see such negative comments about this movie.. by someone from japan itself.

We don't have to feed on eve dished out by the Hollywood.. and we certainly don't have to compare our movies to Hollywood. Sure Hollywood produces top quality movies but then eve doesn't have to be Hollywood style...

Having said that I think Dororo is no less entertaining than any action flick. Sure there r glitches here and there but who cares...

I thought Kou Shibasaki as a wicked crook was both hilarious and brilliant .. Her language [ A local dialect of Japanese ? ] increased my fascination for the Japanese language even more..

Dororo for me represents another aspect of the Japanese culture which I have come to love and respect.

I request to the people who know ... to comment, having a broader perspective in mind ... because for many, this place is the primary contact for information on movies..

Can't wait to for Part 2 & 3 ...

although its effects are not satisfying, the scenario is well written and the actors (and actresses)are all (even the ones at the background)playing with everything they have in the movie. So this make the film going without loosing anything of its interesting tale and making the audience kept on their seats.

When we thing there are lots of movies with expensive effects but really have nothing to watch and extremely boring, maashallah dororo having cheaper effects has done no damage in the entertainment.

I congratulate all players especially the leading actor and the actress.

Waiting for next episodes.