In Japan, Zatoichi is like Zorro. His legend has inspired many films, most starring the inimitable Shintaro Katsu. Now, acclaimed writer-director Takeshi Kitano has taken a stab at it, literally, himself portraying the blind ronin.
Like many samurai tales, Zatoichi is about a wandering warrior, who despite his best efforts to mind his own business, finds himself in a village terrorized by gangs and ultimately is driven to fight. There is a lot of violence, but Takeshi's sense of humor is infused into the film to lighten things up.
A plot about a young boy prostituting himself to men to support his sister brings an inappropriate darkness to the film, and Zatoichi so outclasses his foes that the fight scenes end up being boring. The same immortality is demonstrated by Gennosuke Hattori (Tadanobu Asano), a masterless samurai who becomes bodyguard to one of the gangs' bosses.
Despite these problems, fans of the genre will find plenty to like.