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When out favorite wandering ronin with baby in tow, Ogami Itto, is attacked out of nowhere, he of course cuts his opponent down. But in a surprise twist, the man is actually a messenger for a clan that wishes to employ the famed swordsman. Itto is informed that a total of five other messengers will cross his path, each sent to test his fighting skills, and then (after having been cut down) pass along a portion of payment and more information about the job. Yeah, to hire this guy, they send five people to be murdered by him! Now if that isn’t awesome, I don’t know what is…and that is just how this movie gets going. Now, of course, this film Shogun Assassin 4: Five Fistfuls of Gold is actually the fifth in the Lone Wolf and Cub series, and was previously known as Lone Wolf and Cub 5: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons or as it was originally known, Kozure Okami: Meifumando (Wolf with Child in Tow: Crossroads to Hell). If you are not totally confused by now, you obviously know a bit about the Lone Wolf and Cub series (and more than likely the manga series which spawned it); if you are scratching your head after re-reading the sentence above a few times over I’ll explain it like this. Meifumando was the Japanese title of the original picture, which was fifth in a series of films translated for Western audiences as Lone Wolf and Cub…a series of six total films. Later, however, the first two films were re-edited and combined into a single movie called Shogun Assassin, reducing the total number of films (now known under that new moniker) to five. This of course made this part four instead of five. Got it? No? I didn’t think so. Regardless of the crazed release and re-release drama of these films, it is enough to say that Five Fistfuls of Gold was a very solid entry into the series, featuring the one Lone Wolf and Cub trait that I have come to enjoy the most…multiple plotlines and story-arcs which eventually work their way down into one pseudo-mystery…always with Itto’s nefarious nemesis Yagyu Retsudo somehow behind the whole thing. As you should know by now, if you have been following the series, Yagyu is responsible for the death of Itto’s wife and Itto has been hell-bent on either escaping his past or hunting down those responsible for it ever since. Five Fistfuls of Gold also introduces a new actor to play Yagyu Retsudo, the third so far in the series. Lucky for me and many other fans I have no doubt, the role is taken by actor Minoru Ohki, who does an amazing job playing the single-minded, egotistical villain. Admittedly, Yagyu’s role is lessened in this film than in films previous and especially the next installment, however the story is actually enhanced due to this. This film is not simply a “seek revenge on those who wronged me while fighting off their assassins” tale as are many of the other sequels. Instead, we get a more in depth struggle between good and evil as Itto is hired to help restore a rightful heir to their position which has been stolen by an imposter. The ronin’s task is to murder the little girl who has been raised in the place of the rightful daimyo’s son, as well as to keep proof of the whole set-up away from Yagyu. But can a samurai who fights so diligently to keep his own little child alive really assassinate a young girl who is nothing more than a pawn in a game of political deception? Speaking of Itto’s litte “cub”; Daigoro gets his own chance to shine a bit in this film. Tossing out the tired plot device of Daigoro as the silent partner and stoic, stone-faced tag-along, Five Fistfuls of Gold manages to inject huge amounts of personality into the little guy without much more than cracking his mold. Not only do we get more speaking parts from Daigoro, but also much more in the way of reaction shots and real emotional conveyance. It might just be me, but I find it much easier to be emotionally invested in this little dude’s survival (and that of his warrior father) when I see him as a fragile person. But before you think Daigoro has gone all soft on us, get ready to see him handle his own in a subplot about a female thief who involves the tot in her dirty work long enough to get him captured by the authorities! I never thought I’d say it, but Daigoro is a tough guy! The cinematography in the Lone Wolf series has never been its major drawing point, however the original director of the first three (remember this is really the fifth!) returns here and has brought some creative camera use along with him. At times the intriguing shots feel contrived and heavy handed, but overall the film has a fresh feel to it after the previous installment directed by Buichi Saito. What IS at the top of its game however, is the fight choreography. Holy smokes! For sheer blade flashing, head-chopping action, this film is a winner; but upon close inspection of the actual fight scenes it can be easily admitted that this film is amongst the best representations of dueling in samurai cinema. Now, keeping in mind that the sole fact that this is a Shogun Assassin film and not a Lone Wolf and Cub film, you need to realize that this film was made for Western audiences. What this means to you and I is that we are not going to get the original Japanese audio or the awesome enhanced subtitles that AnimEigo has become renowned for (and highly praised for here at Underland Online). Instead, we have the original dubbed version. Thankfully, however, the Shogun Assassin dubs are amongst the more tolerable and in fact only take me a few minutes at the beginning of each viewing to get over the shock of Tomisaburo Wakayama (Ogami Itto) sounding so differently. Extra features on the disc are limited to translation notes, an image gallery and some trailers, but this is pretty standard stuff for samurai cinema (if isn’t a Kurosawa film anyway!) so I don’t feel the least bit slighted in that department. With characters so defined and stories so easily followed that a viewer can jump in anywhere in the series, this one is accessible right now to everyone reading this; and let me tell you, this one has it all, folks. A fantastic and beloved character returning in a story that has raised the bar for the series; all topped off with some great performances and some absolutely stunning swordplay. I can’t think of another reason why we all watch samurai films…and I can’t think of a single reason why you would not want to watch this one right now! -aaron-
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