A very, very good Samurai film which builds to a tremendous battle. And not a CGI action battle but real, actual actor and stuntman action. OK, no doubt a some CGI was used, but it is mostly invisible (except for the CGI bulls which look completely artificial – but that’s 60 seconds out of a two hour movie).

“13 Assassins” is being compared to “Seven Samurai” and it’s easy to see why, but “Seven Samurai” still is top of the class by delving deeper into the psyches of it’s outnumbered samurai and by giving us a clearer understanding of the planning and preparation that lead up to its climactic battle. Both of these give the audience a deeper investment in the characters and the outcome. “13 Assassins” makes efforts at both, but doesn’t reach the bar set by its predecessor.