Very bad, very slow, and filled with unreal storyline and action scenes.

Rating: 1/10 (23 November 2003)

Just saw the sneak preview. In general, it was an insult to Japanese people! I guess this movie represents how the WRITERS (whom ever they consider themselves to be) think about the GOOD NATURED JAPANESE. To give one example: a wife falling in love with a never before witnessed foreigner who even killed her husband. The acting in general was good, but the story was so silly and unreal that one just had to feel sorry for the actors. The movie in general is extremely slow. Within the 2 hours and a half movie, about 2 hours of the film is filled with silly storyline with no action. And the action scenes were so unreal as well. Except for some scenes where there were one-on-one fights, NO SAMURAI will fight in the way they were portrayed in this movie. The sword fighting scenes were especially awful. It was typical Hollywood portrayal where people were just waving there swords in every which way hoping for a hit on an opponent (which in like most Hollywood films does miraculously only hit the opponents). Can't help but think that the Writers have bombed a film that could have been at least descent.