Director: Takashi Miike
Writer: Takashi Miike, Masa Nakamura (Screenplay)
Starring: Hideaki Ito, Masanoby Ando, Koichi Sato, Kaori Momoi, Yusuke Iseya, Renji Ishibashi
Plot: A nameless gunfighter arrives in a town ripped apart by rival gangs and, though courted by both to join, chooses his own path.
Tagline – An epic tale of blood, lust and greed.
Runtime: 2 Hours 1 Minute
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Way Over the Top
Story: Sukiyaki Western Django starts as a mysterious Gunman (Ito) arrives in a town, where two gangs the Genji and Heike fight for power, they both want to offer the services to the stranger the Genji who dress in all white, while the Heike dress in red.
When Heike leader Kiyomori (Sato) murders a Genji in cold blood, the war is escalated to when Genji assassin Yoichi (Ando) gets into the war between the gangs, where the Gunman has his own agenda between the gangs
Thoughts on Sukiyaki Western Django
Characters – The Gunman is a lone traveler who finds himself in the middle of the war, he is the quickest hand in the town now, protecting himself from any attack coming his way, he has his own reasons for being in town, none of which are the money being offered his way by both sides of the gangs. Yoichi is the assassin on the Genji side of the war, he can kill from nearly any distance with perfect aim to account for weather. Kiyomori is the leader of the Heike who is just as deadly, with both having their own unique style. Yoshitsune is the secretly skill assassin, that hides her abilities unless she is under threat.
Performances – The performances do help the film feel more over the top, which is a good thing because this is meant to be over the top and wild, we see the stars have a lot of fun with how crazed they need to be.
Story – The story here follows a mysterious stranger that finds himself in the middle of a gang war who are both in search for a hidden treasure and now it is time for both side to go to war. This is a story that is way over the top and it is fun to see how this plays out, it isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, just everything amped right up to another level all together. Certain moments of the time jumps can halt the process of the storytelling as we find out small details about the characters by the sudden changes in time, but they are often details we don’t need to learn.
Action – The action in the film is blood splatter, built flying moments, with plenty of slowdown for extra effects when it comes to seeing how the dodges happen.
Settings – The film uses the setting to show the small town coming under attack by the rivalling sides in the war.
Scene of the Movie – One man and his gun.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too many time jumps.
Final Thoughts – This is a wildly over the top western styled action film which is filled with colourful characters, action and gore.
Overall: Stylish Action Film.
