Recensioni de* critic*

Killing is not without merit, far from it, and it is brimming with potential... However, the film is limited by the self-imposed hurdle of its own length. It gives no time for the actions to feel as if they have lasting consequences, and once we stumble, beheaded, over the finishing line, we’re not convinced that Tsukamoto’s sword was actually that sharp.

Handheld camerawork avoids the stuffiness plaguing most period pieces, pulling viewers out of history and into the story's present-tense. The film gets literally darker with each slice of the sword, its emphasis of futility a long way from Tetsuo's full-blown nihilism.

Those coming for a conventional genre film might be disappointed, but those who revel in a fierce gesture of pure cinema will leave sated.

Killing’s few fight sequences have the same gnashing energy as Tsukamoto’s city-punk classics Tetsuo: The Iron Man and Tokyo Fist, but deployed to more judicious ends: blood is drawn as a last resort, there’s no glory in felling your opponent, and Sawamura and Tsuzuki’s blades are so fine they appear almost translucent, ethereal, out of focus.

One of [Tsukamoto's] most engaging films in years... There’s a real sense of energy here that comes as a raw and refreshing antidote to the over-choreographed battles of so many commercial ’wuxia’ films. Although some of his brushstrokes are off, or simply rushed, Tsukamoto still paints an atmospheric portrait of a male code of honour that is falling apart before our eyes.

Killing is a little more reflective [than Tsukamoto's Fires on the Plain], peeling back the mystique of the samurai to consider the real cost of taking lives. It’s not exactly loaded with complexity, something that could be said also for the performances. But the tremendously effective use of music — often incorporating shimmering wind chimes — provides intermittent moments of visceral force.

Less profligately violent than recent works like “Fires on the Plain” or “Kotoko,” the film is a minor entry in the cult director’s hefty oeuvre... Most notable for its oddly murky visuals and unimpressive fight sequences, this stripped-down outdoor chamber piece wraps up after 80 minutes and will just as quickly be forgotten.