Director Shinsuke Sato
Starring Kento Yamazaki, Ryo Yoshizawa & Kanna Hashimoto
Rated Unclassified 15+
Score 6/6

China during 475-221 BC. The tale follows two boys orphaned by war, Shin and Hyou who grow up in a peasant village. They’re determined to become the greatest army generals the world has ever seen! They’re working towards their dream but the now young men are suddenly separated when Hyou is summoned to protect the king. After a series of tragic events, Shin is faced with a treacherous journey to restore justice, meeting all sorts of crafty characters along the way. Will his quest to avenge his friend lead Shin to victory and his ultimate destiny?

Its been a little while since I last reviewed a Japanese movie and with the Japanese Film Festival in town for the next few days it seemed like a good excuse. Before we get to far into things for those of you who might be interested Kingdom is adapted from a manga series written and illustrated by Yasuhisa Hara and there was also an anime that first aired in 2012.
I enjoyed this one, it was EPIC. Now would be the time to make a few comparisons between Asian and Western comic book movies, but with how some of the western comic book movies have been received at the moment it wouldn’t be fair to the west. There was some stunning cinematography and some brilliant swordplay.
I wasn’t familiar with any of the actors cast in this though it turns out that I am vaguely familiar with the director Shinsuke Sato’s work.
I enjoyed Kento Yamazaki, Ryo Yoshizawa and Kanna Hashimoto’s performances. Even though he didn’t have a lot of screen time Takao Osawa seemed to own the screen with his performance as Ouki.