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Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Koyuki, Hideaki Ito, Kaoru Kobayashi, Koichi Sato ... see more see more... , Suzuka Ohgo , Ekin Cheng , Ashina Tsuchiya

A ninja walks away from his life as a warrior only to find he must embrace it again late in life in this action drama based on a popular manga by Sampei Shirato. As a young man, Kamui (Kenichi Matsuya... read more read more...ma) was strong, agile and had the talent to become a great ninja fighter. However, as he learned the way of the warrior, he encountered too many ninjas who used their abilities for vicious or self-serving reasons, and in disgust he walked away from his training, spending fourteen years as a recluse wandering in the mountains. When Kamui makes his way to the seashore, he meets Hanbei (Kaoru Kobayashi), a fisherman who shares the former ninja's sense of honor and propriety. Though Hanbei's wife Oshika (Koyuki) is wary of the stranger, the fisherman and Kamui become fast friends, but Kamui doesn't enjoy the peace of the seaside for very long. A band of ninjas turned pirates invade Hanbei's village, and Kamui must reacquaint himself with his warrior training to defend his friend and new neighbors from the violent horde; Kamui also must protect Hanbei's daughter (Suzuka Ohgo), with whom he's fallen in love. Directed by Yoichi Sai, Kamui Gaiden (aka Kamui) received its North American premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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37% liked it

264 ratings

Unrated, 2 hr.

Directed by: Yoichi Sai

Release Date: September 19, 2009

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DVD Release Date: January 18, 2011

Stats: 49 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (49)

  • lewiskendell
    June 30, 2011
    lewiskendell
    "No matter how much we fight it, we can't never be human."

    Two things hurt Kamui Gaiden pretty badly, in my eyes. A wretchedly bad subtitle job that makes the story practically incomprehensible at times, and some very poorly done special effects and CGI that make every action se... read morequence look fake.

    Even these flaws could be somewhat ignored if Kamui shined in other areas, and thankfully, it does manage a glimmer or two. After the poorly told back-story is out of the way, the plot settles down into a more straightforward tale. The fights still aren't all that amazing and the special effects are still just as conspicuous, but the story of Kamui does strike a few chords as he tries to escape from his past and meets people who he starts to care for, and who are put in danger by the runaway ninja's very presence.

    Check this out if you're starved for some ninja action, but Kamui Gaiden is not a masterpiece by any definition.
  • deano
    October 17, 2010
    deano
    What an amazing story based on the original manga about the adventures of a fugitive ninja. This Japanese epic action film is very ambitious, it's often CGI - wire work can only take you so far in the arena of awesome stunts. The fighters here have really pretty much supernatural... read more skills that make Crouching Tiger look positively undercooked. There's some fun stuff that Kamui fights with, including a knuckleduster with triangular ridges, that can be used for parrying sword blows.
    As Kamui (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) is a really rather sullen character, who has appeal more as a heartthrob to potential androphile members of the audience, much of the ready humour in the film is delegated to supporting actors including Kaoru Kobayashi (as Hanbei the fisherman), and Hideaki Ito (as Lord Fudoh, the incredibly appealing and roguish pirate captain).
  • skactopus
    July 12, 2010
    skactopus
    Yoichi Sato's fugitive ninja tale, Kamui gaiden, lacks the entertainment value to transcend into greatness.

    Far from a terrible movie, Kamui gaiden's 110 minute run time comes in two parts; the first revolves around fisherman, while the second revolves around pira

    ... read moretes, and each has their own antagonists to focus on.

    The action is in the minority, as there is a lot of drama to go through. Aside from the introductory 10 minutes, most of the ninja oriented action lays off until the finale. The CG comes in large quantities, but unfortunately, it isn't impressive in anyway.

    Ken'ichi Matsuyama is a reasonable ninja, especially with the running. Koyuki, Hideaki Ito, and Kaoru Kobayashi all deliver tolerable performances as well. Suzuka Ohgo gets the most points for being the most animated. There are some other side characters that lack adequate airtime to become anything memorable. Anna Tsuchiya and Ekin Cheng fall here.

    Kamui gaiden is not the ninja action extravaganza as it may seem to be. Approach with caution.
  • BigMoneyBruce
    July 10, 2011
    BigMoneyBruce
    Good movie lots of action and a good story chain. If you are a fan of martial arts movies you should have this one. The only bad thing I can say is it had some of that sily wire super jump/flying that many films seem to love. The version I saw was subtitled but the job was done w... read moreell so that with the fast paced nature of the move did not phase me at all. It was a long movie but the story line grew and it was not a hinderence.
  • wurms2
    February 21, 2011
    wurms2
    Starts off as a fun actionfest with some cheesy CGI that only adds to the fun factor. We get some cool ninja special abilities with some cool killing in a forrest and river. I was amped for the rest of the movie. Unfortunately, the entire second act is a snorefest with our awesom... read moree shinobi now learning to fish and other boring stuff people do in a little village. The end is harsh too. Just kind of comes out nowhere just to spit in the face of the audience for all our time invested. Seriously, wtf is up with the ending? Last action scene is alright if your still awake or not pissed off. When your movie has CG sharks jumping out of the water and being speared and sliced in thirds from swords while in mid flight, and even wrestled on a boat beaten with bare hands, you have to keep the slow and sappy stuff at a minimum and go for popcorn factor. Kamui had tons of potential and wasted it on fishing scenes and family life - blah!

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Critic Reviews

Anton Bitel
August 9, 2010
Anton Bitel, Eye for Film

Here, Kamui's endless struggle and suffering are all - but if that, and the film's immense visual beauty, do not sound enough to keep the viewer entertained and enthralled, then there are always the C... Full Review

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