Rurouni Kenshin Part III: The Legend Ends (2014)

(I don't usually post reviews on here, but it's been a while since I've been this let down by a film.)

It's rather hard to describe how much of a massively disappointing final act in the live-action Kenshin trilogy this film is. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that the people who made the second film had nothing to do with it. After the second film (the first half of the Kyoto Arc) had been brought to life so brilliantly, it's hard to see how they could have dropped the ball this badly for the third film.

For starters, it takes about 90 minutes for it to finally get moving, most of that devoted to Kenshin learning the final technique he needs to defeat Shishio (the main villain). The problem is, the anime and the manga don't take anywhere near that long to tell this part of the story, so why they felt the need to stretch it out to death is a complete mystery. This ends up wasting precious time, which in turn left them little choice but to cut out most of the important events that lead up to the final fight, basically rewriting a huge chunk of the story. Instead, what we get is a bloated action sequence in the third act that tries to smush several of the fights together, chopping them down to mere fragments of what they should have been.

This also calls up a pretty big plot hole. The main villain's guards are known as the "Ten Swords." In these two films combined, we see our heroes defeat four of them. I guess the other six took a vacation, or were completely forgotten about by the filmmakers. The final fight with Shishio is appropriately epic (though stretched out a little too much to the point of monotony), but it does nothing to make up for the film's major shortcomings. I'll end this rant here, but I will add that I really hope they try again in the future. They wouldn't even have to redo the whole thing, just this one film, if only so fans can have the great finale that this story deserves.

Fmovies: I reckon you'll have at least seen the two movies before this one. So I don't consider it spoiling talking about things that happened before this movies events. Like the fact, that our main character swore to not kill anymore. Something difficult to hold up, especially if you consider how many people are out to get him.

After that cliffhanger from the previous movie, we do get an introduction to that character we saw at the end. And it's a pivotal character to say the least. Since I'm not aware of the Manga or Anime made before this, I can't compare anything. I do know that the dynamic of the movie works nicely. Also the action scenes are really well choreographed (like the previous one). It might be a bit too long with its running time, but it's still very entertaining

I've read a few reviews on here about how wishy-washy the action was and the twisting of the plot. As a super fan of Samurai X, I really see no other way of having recast this story without overkill of CGI and long meandering plots. I doff my cap to the producers of this as trying to remake the history up Battousai, leaing up to the final battle with Shshio, was no mean feat. The character replications are exemplary, the sword fights are memorable and even some of the remakes of Kenshin's signature moves are brought to life in the most realistic ways possible. Condensing a series that went 96 episodes + 4 OVAs each going on average 23 min (though up to the Shishio battle would be about eps 50 something) into a trilogy of 2hr 15 min each is not easy, especially while trying to build some level of intimacy and depth with the characters is not easy.

Cons: I' have loved them to develop some characters further, or give the backstory at least (Sojiro, Aoshi and some of the Juppongata) to create more drama and depth, as well as inclide some more epic fight scenes.

Overall: 8/10

Rurouni Kenshin Part III: The Legend Ends fmovies. A reflective first act may prove to be too slow for some viewers, but these moments contain the most imperative lessons for Kenshin in the entire trilogy. This film contains-easily one of the greatest third acts I've ever seen, and any martial arts/action film buff worth their salt needs to see this film. Once again I applaud Satoh Takeru, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Kenji Tanigaki and the rest for the unbelievable devotion to realizing these dynamic characters as authentically as possible. Aside from some character development gripes, the assuredness of direction, cinematography, pacing, acting-chops, choreography and perhaps most importantly, appreciation for the source material, it's lessons and essence, this is easily one of the best, ( if not the best) in contemporary Japanese action cinema. This trilogy was seriously on point. Purists open your eyes: this is what all adaptations should strive to achieve, creating an ending that is far more impactful, and ultimately improves upon its source. Next to "The Raid", unparalleled fight choreography.

After sleeping three days and dreaming with his master Seijuro Hiko (Masaharu Fukuyama), Kenshin Himura (Takeru Satô) wake up and finds that he was saved by Hiko. Kenshin asks to learn the Hiten Mitsurugi technique, "Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki", to defeat Shishio, and Hiko agrees and trains him. Meanwhile Makoto Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara) meets the Prime-Minister Hirobumi Ito (Yukiyoshi Ozawa) that is forced to betray Kenshin declaring that he is a wanted outlaw; otherwise Shishio will destroy Tokyo and the government. What will Kenshin do?

"Rurôni Kenshin: Densetsu no saigo-hen", a.k.a. "Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends" is one of the best trilogies of cinema industry ever. The duel between Kenshin and Shishio is too long but in the end, the good wins the evil. The ending is very sweet and fortunately Kaoru Kamiya has survived. Fortunately the producers have not made another sequel despite the number of fans. It is better off missing Kenshin than seeing a commercial weak sequence only for the box office. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Samurai X 3: O Fim de Uma Lenda" ("Samurai X 3: The End of a Legend")

When the live action movie of Rurouni Kenshin was announced, I was not pleased. I feared the adaptation would just kill this great story, and because of that, I ignored the installments. Yet here I am, beyond satisfied with the trilogy. Actually, I am thrilled to be alive in a time where stories like this one are respected and loved to be told in such a beautiful way by cast and crew. In every frame, you see the efforts in sound, photography, directing, writing and acting (among others) to make the most enjoyable moment for the audience, whether it's made of anime/manga fans or not. There is only one word to describe the AWESOMENESS in this flawless adaptation: subarashii (magnificent). I thank you all involved. And congratulate you on the marvelous job done.