This is one of those movies that I felt I didn't enjoy as much as I should have, especially since I like Samurai movies. The real problem for me, and possibly others, wasn't in the acting or action (even though there isn't as much as some people may have you believe) but in the story and specifically the many unresolved plot points. I have read that this was supposed to be the first part of a series but a sequel never got made. I wish the filmmakers would have either condensed the story to fight one film or made a sequel. As it stands now the movie is unfufilling. The subplot of the girl (Omatsu I think) who lost her grandfather was given a lot of attention and looked finally to be tying into the main story at the end. But since it ended without any resolution it becomes increasingly frustrating that her subplot wasted so much screen time so as the main story couldn't finish. Even more frustrating is the fact that there was never a showdown between Utsuki and Ryunosuke. Some movies don't have resolutions I understand that, but the fact that the buildup to the fight took center stage here hurts the ending (in my opinion). Furthermore the knowledge that there was a planned sequel leads me to believe that Ryunosuke didn't die which dilutes the impact of the maddening climax. This maybe the rare case of a movie that is actually hurt by not having a sequel! Go figure that we live in a world where crap like Deuce Bigalow gets a sequel and an interesting stories like The Sword of Doom don't fully get to tell theirs. This criticism aside, the movie was really well made. The cinematography was particularly excellent and the fight at the end especially was well shot. It's definitely worth seeing if you are a fan of the genre, otherwise I can't say I'd recommend it.
Review of The Sword of Doom
