Director: Keishi Otomo
Notable Cast: Takeru Satoh, Kasumi Arimura, Issey
Takahashi, Nijiro Murakami, Masanobu Ando, Kazuki Kitamura, Yosuke Eguchi, Towa
Araki, Shima Onishi, Takahiro Fujimoto
With the fifth and (possibly) final installment of the
Japanese box office juggernaut series, Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning
might be one of the boldest ways to cap off a franchise. After the successful
trilogy run previously, the series came back with what constitutes a two-part
finale. The first portion of that, Rurouni Kenshin: The Final, was only
released a handful of months prior to this one and acts as a final stamp on the
series. It gives the red-haired wandering swordsman his peace to cap off a
rather remarkable character arc that covered four films and featured some of
the best action set pieces of the series, a bombastic set of spectacle-driven
moments, and all of the characters that fans loved. It was the feather in the
cap of one of action cinema’s most balanced and effective franchises.
In the fourth film though, there are flashbacks to an origin
for the titular character, Kenshin, that are the core for this prequel. Hence
the title, Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning. Just in case there may be
those who are new to the series or simply want to know just how upfront the
filmmakers wanted to be with this entry. Yes, this fifth entry is a prequel to
the entire series and, no, it does not suffer at all from the narrative
setbacks and leaps of logic that plague so many prequels.
To be frank, The Beginning might be the most daring
in its tone, atmosphere, and artistic merits of the series. It’s an almost
fully different experience than the others, cinematically speaking, and yet is
the perfect lead-in for the story, character, and narrative build for all of
the rest. It’s incredibly well-executed and ranks up there as one of the
best.
It’s a bold maneuver to release the last two films, The
Final and The Beginning, out of sequential order for its audience,
considering how much The Final plays on the events of The Beginning
to work. Still, while that may not make sense in the overall scheme of things,
now that both of the films are released on Netflix in the US, you can watch
them in the order that works best for you. Part of me wants to say that the
manner they released the film is meant to maximize on getting its audience
resituated in the world, but ultimately, it feels a bit perplexing.
As a prequel, The Beginning plays its plotting
without relying on the audience to see the previous four entries. There are
only a few fan service moments that stick out, including the introduction of a
young character that becomes a major plot in the fourth film or how this film
leads straight into the cold opening of the first, but it largely stands on its
own in terms of plot. This is a huge benefit to the film as its main plotting,
where Kenshin - still known as Himura Battosai, stumbles into a romantic
relationship with a young woman while acting as an almost unbeatable assassin
during the revolution.
As always, this is Kenshin’s story, but this is not the
character from the other films. In fact, director Keishi Otomo makes this very
apparent by shooting his introduction in the film like that of a villain. This
is not a hero finding his voice, but a villain looking to achieve his goals to
finally be able to step away from the violence of his life. That might seem
like a small change, but with a strong performance from Satoh to layer nuance
into the darkness of the character and a film that leans into his inherent
ability for mass slaughter (seriously, this might be the most visually violent
of the series in regard to gore and viciousness in the fights) it’s a stylistic
choice that gives even more meaning to his quest in later films.
The romantic angle works too, particularly in how the film
meticulously puts it together in the pacing and through the chemistry of its
leads. To match the more intimate and darker tone of the film, actress Kasumi
Arimura adds a substantial amount of emotional core to the film. By the time
the third act starts to roll out, their relationship is potent enough that the
twists and reveals (which are spoiled in the plotting of The Final)
still pack a wallop.
If anything, there is one aspect that sets The Beginning
aside from its predecessors in the biggest way: the lack of a distinct villain.
The Rurouni Kenshin series is known for its distinctive and effective
villains and since The Beginning paints our lead as a villain initially
and doesn’t reveal the true villains of the film until the third act it lacks a
lot of that push and pull dynamic that allows the others to work as big, bold
action-adventure films. It’s not that the choice inherently undercuts the film,
on the contrary it’s a welcome change of pace to shift the tone and structure
away from the formula, but it is something that audiences may not buy
into.
As always, the action in the film is incredible. To match
the tone and intimacy of the character-driven plight, the action is not nearly
as spectacle-oriented as the other films, but the sheer speed and intricacy of
the choreography in the sword fighting still cannot be understated. Kenji
Tanigaki remains one of the greatest action directors and choreographers
working in the industry today and he ably matches the tone and intensity of the
story and characters with the action in the film.
All in all, while Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning
might be an odd way to end the franchise (if it truly is the end?) as it’s the
first film chronologically speaking, it’s also one of the most daring films of
the series. It changes the tone to a darker and more violent story, doubling
down on establishing the villainous acts Kenshin committed during the
revolution, but it still manages to execute in a way that only makes his
character more interesting and dynamic. Think of The Beginning as it
aligns itself more with films like Sleepy Eyes of Death or the Kinji Fukasaku
chanbara flicks rather than previous entries. The performances are more subdued
and less cartoonish, the action is still wildly impressive, and the emotional
core still managed to pull some tears from my eyes.
Part of me hopes that this isn’t the last Rurouni Kenshin
film, but if it is - it’s one hell of an interesting way to exit.
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