Yamada: Samurai of Ayothaya

YAMADA, WAY OF THE SAMURAI is another historical Thai martial arts flick along the lines of BANG RAJAN, although it's a far cry from the quality of that movie. This is a low-budget misfire that purports the tell the true story of a Japanese samurai warrior who finds himself fighting on the side of the Thais against some evil oppressors and assassins.

The story's okay but the execution isn't. For an action film, YAMADA, WAY OF THE SAMURAI is remarkably short on fight scenes. There are a few scenes of training and the like, but the action is limited to only one battle scene and the final fight. While the hard-hitting choreography is acceptable, too much of the fighting is hidden behind poor added effects; silly slow-motion to emphasis the hits early on, and rubbishy CGI sword thrusts and spraying blood later. It hardly makes for a realistic viewing experience.

The script is minimalist and the characters largely one-dimensional. Seigi Ozeki has zero screen presence as the lead and his character is largely a bore. The Thai actors fare better, but the kind of elbow-slamming action you'd expect from a Thai martial arts flick is in short supply. Instead we get a predictable story and a dull narrative lacking in genuine incident.

The only good thing in this movie is Buakaw Banchamek, enough said. The action scenes with Buakaw in it is very good but story and the lead character are crap.

Watched it only because of Buakaw. Buakaw is my favorite Muay Thai fighter ever. The plot is simple and the story is crap. I would say if you take Buakaw as the lead character the movie would have been a whole lot better than this.

Under average movie about the morals of fighters, what a true fighter respects and how he confronts the death issue. The story and acting scenes could have been better. Hope you enjoy it the same as i did.

Highway to heaven (or hell for all I know) that is. A very OTT movie, that does not involve much acting, but does rely on a historic event (though you won't be alone if that "fact" brings up a chuckle or two, especially during the movie). The fighting is pretty good, the (obvious) CGI not that much.

Language switches between Japanese and Thai, while the story goes places you will expect it to go (no surprises there). There are of course better movies out there, but if you are a fan of "eastern" movies you can risk a look at this. Especially if you don't mind the (CGI) blood that'll spill all over your screen!

watched it only because of buakaw banchamek . i really loved it . plain and nice. music i think transferred me to that period and made me feel as if i was in ayothaia back then . buakaw is my most favourite muai thai fighter of all. the plot is simple . the social messages throughout the movie . perfect movie about the morals of fighters, what a true fighter respects and how he confronts the death issue . would definitely recommend the movie for a relaxing 1 hour and 40 minutes time. the fight scenes could have been better but thats minor compared to the total value of the film. which i think is high . hope you enjoy it the same as i did .

The show is based on a real person Yamada Nagamasa. He was a Japanese samurai who has lost his Lord and has therefore signed on to be a mercenary in Thailand during the Ayothaya era. At first he stays in the Japanese camp with the other Mercenaries. There is a plot to build unrest in the countryside and his group is responsible for stopping it. He learns that it is some Japanese that are behind the unrest. For this knowledge he is almost killed, but saved by some Thai warriors and taken back to their village. There he finds the purpose that he's lacking.

There are some flaws in the movie, some of the dialog is a bit childish. There is a bit of our martial arts is the best martial arts. However that is not the purpose of the movie. The movie is to show how this person of Japanese decent became a citizen of Thailand and ended up making this his home until he died there in 1633.