To be honest I watched Ichi because Haruka Ayase is in it. I didn’t even know that it was a remake. The last time I saw her was in Cyborg She and I’m still looking for a copy of Oppai Volleyball. Going back to Ichi, she plays a blind sword fighter looking for any clues about her father.
Ichi is a good action movie. It teaches you not to underestimate your opponents. Her beauty and blindness might make her look weak but she is skillful with the sword. She learned the backhand sword grip from her father. My friend pointed out that her father could be Zatoichi, the legendary blind sword fighter. Like I said, I’ve never saw the previous movies. That’s why I didn’t connect the dots.
Ichi has all the things you look for in an action film. Comedy relief is brought to us by Toma Fujihira (Takao Osawa). He’s a samurai who can’t unsheathe his sword. Instead of being Ichi’s savior, he is the one who needs saving most of the time. If you’re looking for a modern samurai movie, then try watching Ichi. The duels were great. The one thing I don’t like about the movie is Banki (Shido Nakamura). His facial expressions are overdone. Maybe that’s what the director asked from him. You’ll hate him more after his fight with Toma at the end.
Ichi is a tragic but entertaining tale. The guys connected with her have met their untimely deaths and she can’t do anything about it. That’s their fate and she accepted it. Haruka Ayase proves that she’s not just a pretty face and can do action movies as well.
