TheRetroCritic

Sorry, it's a two-parter. Because Youtube's being ass. You can read the full Casshern review HERE .

Based on the 70's anime series, Casshern was a 2004 live-action film which looked very promising yet it left me feeling somewhat conflicted leaving the cinema after watching it: parts of it pissed me right off but other parts were all kinds of awesome. So how does Casshern fare now, after a re-watch? Much better, actually. The flaws I'd picked up on the first time watching it are still there and they are still distracting but the stuff that works in the film does very much outweigh them. If you're not familiar with the film's plot, it involves a Dr Frankenstein-style scientist (Akira Terao) who finds a way to regenerate dead tissue through what he calls Neo-Cells. During a war, a lightning bolt mysteriously hits his lab and, as a result, a new race of people is born. At the same time, his son Tetsuya (Yusuke Iseya) is killed in the war and he brings him back as some kind of superhero who ends up calling himself Casshern. The new "monsters", Neo-Sap

More along the lines of Casshern than the recent anime-style extreme gore subgenre which is sweeping Japanese cinema by storm, Ashura is actually not so much about the gratuitous violence and gore but rather about its opera-style story and general melodramatic feel. Adapted from a play, Ashura is very theatrical throughout and often feels like a cross between an opera, anime, a samurai film, an Onimusha video game and a cheesy Hammer horror film. There's dodgy CGI and way too many green-screened backgrounds but overall the film still looks pretty decent. It's the performances though which keep the whole thing afloat: some are hammy, some are very good: it's a mixed bag but overall the cast keep Ashura entertaining throughout. That said, the film still feels much longer than it is and could have done with a shorter running time and a faster pace. It remains compelling throughout though and it's worth a look if you're interested in Kabuki or any of t