Samurai (2002)
"Samouraïs" (original title)

Half a century ago, a Japanese family summoned a demon known as Kodeni to dispose of its adversaries. Once the killing was done, the family was cursed. Now, Tokyo Police Inspector Fujiwara ... See full summary »

Director:

Giordano Gederlini

Writers:

Matt Alexander, Alexandre Coquelle,

Stars:

Cyril Mourali, Maï Anh Le, Yasuaki Kurata

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cyril Mourali	...	Marco
Maï Anh Le	...	Akemi
Yasuaki Kurata	...	Commissaire Fujiwara Morio
Saïd Serrari	...	Nadir
Santi Sudaros	...	Kodeni
Dara-Indo Oum	...	Nakatomi
Kevin Peracini	...	Leo
Hidetoshi Nakahashi	...	Le Samourai
Yusuke Hirayama	...	Inspecteur Endo
Pascal Gentil	...	Nabil
Omar Sy	...	Tyson
Onochi Seietsu	...	Police Scientifique
Tsuyu Shimizu	...	Fille du Samourai (as Tsuyu Bridwell)
Ravindra Ngo	...	Kenji-X
Masahiro Endo	...	Jeune Policier

Storyline

Half a century ago, a Japanese family summoned a demon known as Kodeni to dispose of its adversaries. Once the killing was done, the family was cursed. Now, Tokyo Police Inspector Fujiwara is investigating the murder of a video game designer. The investigation leads him to a frightening discovery - the same lethal demon is about to be reborn. Fujiwara must travel to Paris and kill this unborn child who is the reincarnation of Kodeni and who threatens to destroy the world.

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Plot Keywords:

demon | fight in the restroom | martial arts school | feudal japan | katana sword | 

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Genres:

Action

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality

Details

Country:

Spain France Germany

Language:

French Japanese

Release Date:

19 June 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

Samourai: Athanatos ektelestis

Filming Locations:

Anduze, Gard, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

CP Medien AG, Canal Plus Ecriture, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Silly, but good fun and worth a viewing

Having just finished watching this movie, I must say it was nowhere near as bad as most of the reviews would have had me believe. I suppose the most misleading thing about this movie is the title – it really has very little to do with Samurais at all. Basically, Samouraïs is mix of martial arts, supernatural action, cop story and techno thriller. I'll be the first to admit, the story is far from perfect, being very simplistic, and outrageously silly in a few places. Nevertheless, I did enjoy it. Anyway, let me break it down into pros and cons:

Pros – great fight scenes (for the most part); some truly fantastic visual effects and CGI; great "video game" sequences; and some clever (if bizarre) story elements.

Cons – the Nadir character is a truly stupid and annoying "bumbling sidekick", on a par with Jar Jar Binks; the fight scenes and violence were strangely sanitized in many ways, much more so than I would expect given the genre and subject matter; every attempt at humor and/or comic relief fails miserably (extremely unfunny and insultingly stupid); and as had been pointed out, the plot is very simplistic, and very implausible in many areas.

All in all, Samouraïs is worth a watch if you are a fan of martial arts action and/or supernatural action movies, but please don't see it with expectations of epic cinema or brilliant acting. Also, if you are looking for a "Samurai" genre movie, this certainly is not it. All that aside, an entertaining and easy to watch B-grader.