Review – Samurai 2: Duel at Ichijoji Temple

The saga continues, as do the poorly-lit swordfights just like in the first one. Still, even as hard as they are to see, the action sequences are still the best part of what turns out to be a really long hour and 45 minutes. This time around Musashi has no less than three women chasing after him – is this guy supposed to be Japan’s answer to James Bond? – which transforms big chunks of the picture into a soap opera. Samurai-action-wise, our hero embarrasses the members of a swordsmanship school, who decide to assassinate him to prevent him from humiliating their teacher in a public duel. In this episode we also meet Kojiro Sasaki, who will no doubt play a major role in number three. Mildly amusing