some artistic merit ruined by excessive violence

Rating: 2/10 (1 August 2005)

This movie has moments of artistic merit, such as the Japanese garden scene during snowfall. It is also commendable in its attempt to synthesize several different genres into one picture. This effort, though, for the most part, fails. The different genres don't really mesh together seamlessly into one fabric, but seem tacked together and disjointed.
What really torpedoes this picture is its excessive violence. The violence is so repetitive it becomes mind numbing. At other times it is so graphic it is repugnant. The violence itself adds little to the story development and has little artistic merit. However, if you are hardened to this sort of thing and enjoy it, then this picture is for you.