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Starring
:
Yumiko
Shaku
Hideaki
Ito
Kyusaku
Shimada
Shiro
Sano
Yoko
Maki
Yoichi
Numata
Action
:
Donnie
Yen
Producer
:
Taka
Ichise
Director
:
Shinsuke
Sato
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PRINCESS
BLADE (2001)
A.K.A.
- Shurayuki Hime
Reviewed
by Phil Mills
In
this time period, an unknown country is quarantined off from
the rest of the world and finds itself ruled over by a tough
dictatorship who employ a sect of assassins known as the
Takemikazuchi to keep the peace. Amongst their number is
a young girl by the name of Yuki (Shaku), whose family were
the founding members of the clan. As her 20th birthday
approaches, Yuki is suddenly faced with the awful truth that
her mother was murdered by the current leader of the
Takemikazuchi clan who calls himself Byakurai (Shimada).
Opting to immediately seek revenge, Yuki finds herself outmanoeuvred
and out-manned so she is forced to flee for her life. On
the run, she comes across a young man by the name of Takeshi
who treats her injuries and shows her that life is not all
doom and gloom. However, Yuki is now faced with the
dilemma of pursuing her new, and decidedly happier, lifestyle
or facing her past and exacting the revenge she craves.
With
the emergence of 'Versus'
as one of the most popular action films in recent years, it
was only a matter of time before Japanese filmmakers once
again dipped into this genre. As such, 'Princess Blade'
is their latest entry that is inspired by a Manga series and comes armed with an added element -
the experience of Donnie Yen as action choreographer! So
let's answer the question on everybody's lips straight away,
is this film as good as 'Versus'? Well, the very simple answer
is a straightforward "No". In truth, it's not even in the same
league as, despite the best efforts of the cast (Shaku in
particular), the over familiar story and poor pacing can, at
times, make this film quite dull to watch. The
post-apocalyptic vision of the future and marauding teen gangs
that frequent this scenario seem to be recurring themes
throughout Japanese cinema (see just about any manga series as
an example) but no one seems to have told them that
this story is wearing very thin. Added to this, Shinsuke
Sato seems to have no idea how to pace an action film as even
though the film opens and closes with a bang, the entire
middle section of the film is devoid of any real revelations
and seems to just fill in time before we finally reach the
closing confrontation.
As
for the action, Donnie Yen's presence does indeed prove to be
a bonus here and his expertise is employed wisely. Each
battle is well choreographed with some lightening fast
swordplay and kung fu that benefit from Yen's trademark slow
motion camera techniques and familiar use of split kicks.
It's also interesting to note that, for some reason, either
Donnie or the director has opted not to overdo the use of
undercranking which actually makes the fights more exciting
than any of Donnie's solo efforts thus far. The one real
letdown though is the poor way that
the fight sequences are integrated into the story. With
the exception of the intro and the ending, there aren't really
many other major bouts of combat to speak of and this really only
leaves the viewer feeling somewhat unfulfilled when the final
credits roll.
Obvious
criticisms aside, 'Princess Blade' does still provide some
entertainment thanks to some standout moments of action
and a strong leading performance from Yumiko Shaku.
Perhaps if a sequel is made (and the disappointing conclusion
that leaves an open end would seem to hint at the possibility)
then the producers could take more time over the story and
combine the elements to create one heck of a film. For
the time being though, 'Princess Blade' will just have to take
it's place amongst the halls of average action films.
Rating:
 
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