A decades-old unproduced screenplay set during Japan’s 1868-’69 civil war has been dusted off and given thoroughly modern action-movie treatment in Kazuya Shiraishi’s “11 Rebels.” A highly entertaining and highly blood-drenched take on the trusty old tale of crooks and miscreants embarking on a military suicide mission on the promise of being pardoned should they happen to survive, “11 Rebels” has just the right balance of spectacular swordplay, revenge-fueled drama and double-crossing political intrigue.
After opening the Tokyo Film Festival, Shiraishi’s lusty samurai slash-’em-up will march into Japanese cinemas on Nov. 1. A slightly different version of the film has been acquired for North America by specialty distributor Well Go USA. Fans of FX’s smash-hit “Shogun” series should find plenty to like about this handsomely produced tale set in the dying days of feudal Japan. In the broader scope of samurai cinema, it combines the chamber drama formality of the genre’s Akira Kurosawa-led 1950s and ’60s heyday with the bloody extravagance of more recent examples such as Takashi Miike’s “Blade of the Immortal.”
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Best known for hard-boiled crime dramas such as “The Blood of Wolves” and serial killer thriller “Lesson in Murder,” Shiraishi first turned his attention to samurai period dramas with the elegant “Bushido,” released locally in May 2024, and has followed quickly with this blood-and-thunder entry. The source material is a 1964 screenplay by the late Kazuo Kasahara, who’s credited with the original draft alongside a screenplay credit Junya Ikegami (“The Blood of Wolves”). The action takes place during the Boshin War, which ended centuries of feudalism under the isolationist Tokugawa shogunate and triggered Japan’s rapid transformation into an economic and military powerhouse. The timeframe here is around eight years prior to that depicted in the 2003 Tom Cruise hit “The Last Samurai.”
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Though the intricate details of political and strategic machinations can sometimes be hard to follow, the broad essentials are easy enough to understand. As the New Imperial Army continues to make advances on armies of the ruling shogunate, members of the Shibata clan headed by 13-year-old birthright brat Naomasa Mizoguchi hatch a plan that will display loyalty to their feudal masters while also positioning the Shibata for favorable terms should imperial forces win the war. The key to pulling off the scheme lies in rounding up a ragtag collection of prisoners and sending them off with a handful of Shibata fighters to defend an isolated and strategically important fort.
With such a large group, there’s not much time for substantial character development, but what is supplied serves the film’s objectives just fine. Audiences will be rooting for main rebel Masa (Takayuki Yamada, “13 Assassins”), a peasant spared execution after killing the scumbag soldier who raped his wife. Akani (Ukon Onoe) is a lanky and likable gambler; handsome guy Nimaime (Hayate Ichinose) was in the clink for simply looking the wrong way at a soldier’s wife, and a fearsome customer known as “Cut-em-down” (Ryota Oyanagi) is a serial killer determined to up his tally. The squad’s appealing mascot is Noro (Takara Sakumoto), a mentally impaired peasant who turns out to be anything but disabled when it comes to making bombs and devising clever tactics. It is interesting to have wronged woman Natsu (Riho Sayashi) as part of the team, though stronger commentary about her situation — and that of other females caught in the crossfire — could have been made for modern audiences.
Viewers should also connect with Washio (Taiga Nakano), who’s part of the Shibata contingent at the fort. A handsome and fiercely loyal fighter who begins to suspect his superiors have sold everybody out, Washio’s heroism serves as a nice counterpoint to the sneaky villainy of Irie (Shuhei Nomura), a fellow officer with close links to scheming Shibata heavy Mizoguchi (Sadao Abe), who has no intention of allowing any rebels to walk free when the fighting’s done.
With stirring themes of revenge and injustice keeping viewers engaged, “Rebels” delivers all the fireworks action fans have come for. Making the most of an ideal location with a rickety rope bridge included for hair-raising escapes, Shiraishi and his effects and make-up teams throw everything into the film’s thrilling depictions of warfare. Limbs and digits are chopped off everywhere, blood flows like rivers and countless heads are severed in the heat of battles sometimes taking place in both bright sunshine and pelting rain.
“11 Rebels” doesn’t spring any major surprises and has the propulsive action, quality performances and classy widescreen photography by Naoya Ikeda (“Gannibal” series) for this not to matter greatly. By the time Masa and (an ever-reducing number of) his company have somehow survived umpteen assaults and launch into the final encounter most viewers should feel that the film’s entertainment mission is accomplished.
