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Adness’s
Sonny Chiba Collection continues with one of this star's most unusual
vehicles, an epic combination of war movie, science fiction and historical
drama known on these shores as G.I. Samurai.
It’s one of the most interesting releases in this collection
because it restores 40 minutes’ worth of footage that was cut for the
previous
U.S.
releases of the film. As for
the film itself, it's the toughest kind to write about - one that is
neither decisively good or bad.
G.I. Samurai was adapted from
a popular Japanese novel called Sengoku
Jieitai (also the film’s Japanese title). The central figure is Lt.
Yoshiaki Iba (
Chiba
), the leader of a group of Japanese Self Defense Force soldiers (a
Japanese answer to the Army Reserves, if you will). For reasons
unexplained, these weekend warriors get transported through time en route
to an SDF function. Much to their displeasure, they find themselves in the
warring states era of Japanese history.
Within minutes, they are under attack from enemies who covet the boat,
tank and helicopter that came through the time warp with them. The only
friendly support comes from Kagatori (Isao Natsuki), a fight-happy samurai
who has grown discontent with the leadership of his shogun and wants to
take power for himself with Iba's help. Iba also has to deal with Yano (Kenzo
Kawarazaki), the bad seed of the group, who is nursing a grudge toward Iba
for reporting his attempts to start a coup in the SDF ranks. Meanwhile,
other soldiers try to figure out how to return home as political tensions
heat up around them. All these plot threads culminate in an epic
conflagration between soldiers new and old, with plenty of double-crosses
and enormous battle scenes that give American epics a run for the money.
Sounds like a fail-safe concept, right? Well, yes and no.
First, the problems. G.I. Samurai’s
script is a mess, burdened with too many subplots that weigh down the
plot's forward drive - instead of dealing with the fascinating
possibilities of the culture clashing inherent to the plot, a lot of time
is wasted on stories of peripheral soldiers that ultimately go nowhere
(i.e.: several minutes wasted on a girl in the present, searching for her
time-warped beau). Without getting into too many spoilers, it also bears
note that the movie eventually cops out on the sci-fi conceit that sets up
the whole story.
The
overtly complicated storyline is further hurt by inconsistent direction.
Director Mitsumasu Saito conducts the story in a rather choppy
fashion, throwing together scenes and plot developments in a way that
unnecessarily complicates the flow of his storytelling.
Even worse, he indulges in some campy flourishes that wreck the
film’s mostly dramatic tone – the worst is a ridiculous scene where
some pirate-minded soldiers lay waste to villages and rape some of the
female villagers to the tune of jaunty, seafaring music(!). On that note,
Saito also slathers the film with bursts of inappropriate music that often
kill the mood, namely about 5 or 6 incredibly lame Japanese pop songs
guaranteed to yank the viewer out of the moment at hand.
That said, G.I. Samurai isn't
a total wash, at least for the patient cult-film fan. First off,
Chiba
gets a role worthy of his charismatic presence: Lt. Iba is something of
‘a warrior without a war to fight’ and he takes to the turbulent
change of scenery all too well.
Chiba
gives a great performance as a man who is seduced by the temptation of
power, slipping from a thoughtful leader to a blood-crazed warlord with
frightening conviction.
More importantly, the battle scenes in this film are AMAZING. There's a
scene of shogun assassination assisted by an attack from a helicopter that
burns its way into the memory with ease. Better yet, the centerpiece of
the film is an astonishing 30-minute battle sequence that pits Iba and his
handful of heavily-armed troops against hundreds of sword-wielding
soldiers on horseback. It's a carefully choreographed orgy of slashings,
shootings, stunts and explosions that allows our man
Chiba
to do all of the above with his characteristic intensity. In short, it's a
joy to behold and worth the price of admission for the Chibamaniac.
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