Interesteg What makes it different from others?

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

davidjjey One of my favourite movies is a little Japanese anime called "Ninja Scroll". It's based on a historical period in Japan, with actual clans and leaders mentioned in the background to the story, but with that said, it goes on to tell a rather fantastical story - the heroes and their enemies, even the normal looking ones, tend to have abilities almost on a par with superheroes and the like. But it works for two reasons: (1) it follows the rules it establishes for its world (2) it succeeds in creating an atmosphere in which those kind of feats seem possible (as long as you are able to suspend your disbelief as anyone must in order to enjoy something like it, or the Avengers films, or Lord of the Rings, etc).Azumi failed in both of those aspects, and on top of that was probably as contrived as a movie could get. And that's where we can start to see who the intended audience for this was - probably quite similar to the main cast, who were young good looking 'idols' it seems....the Japanese equivalent of casting Marky Mark in a movie really. So if you have very VERY few demands of a movie when it comes to a plot being even a tiny TINY bit realistic, then this badly CGI'd bloody actioner might be good for you. Otherwise, if you want something similar, with better fight choreography, plot, acting, character development, and even sets and costumes, check out "13 Assassins" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1436045/?ref_=nv_sr_1)...you won't regret it. Or if you want something even better on the character/plot side of things (but definitely not so bloody), "The Twilight Samurai" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351817/?ref_=tt_rec_tti) is also excellent.

Matt Kracht I guess I'm in the category of people love Versus, but find the director's other movies to be a bit tedious, boring, and overly stylistic, while lacking substance. While Versus had style to spare, it didn't take itself seriously, and it was so over-the-top and surreal that it's difficult to believe that someone could actually criticize the lack of story or the excessive violence. Azumi, on the other hand, seems to alternate between Versus-style camp and truly taking itself very seriously (usually degenerating into ridiculous melodrama that made me laugh more than the campy scenes). The idea that these undisciplined children could cut down legions of trained samurai was just plain silly. While I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for a comic book movie, I'd prefer the action sequences to be less inspired by Michael Bay. Characters pose, pose, attack, then pose. Sometimes they don't even bother to attack until they've posed for so long, you wonder if they've turned into wood. I might even be able to handle all this, except that it's all set to the worst soundtrack ever.The visuals are very pretty, and the action scenes are actually pretty competently done when the director isn't obsessed with posing his actors like dolls. The characters are stereotypes, with relatively simplistic morality guiding each of them. Still, it's better than what you see in many action movies, where the morality boils down to a good guy and a bad guy; instead, we get clichéd, stereotypical shades of grey. Given the ages of the leads, I'm guessing that this was actually targeted at a younger demographic, who will be deeply impressed with the simplistic displays of morality.I've heard good things about some of Ryuhei Kitamura's other movies, so I'll probably still check them out, despite my reaction to Azumi. As I understand it, none of them are especially similar to Versus, which probably means that I'll have the same reaction. Still, you never know if you'll like something until you give it a chance.

lewiskendell "No matter how much I try to escape...I can't avoid it. I have no choice...I am forced to kill."Azumi is a pretty standard Asian action flick with a little drama mixed in. It's a better watch than most, though, because of several pretty emotional twists and turns that the story takes. You come to care about several of the main characters, and the things that happen to them are handled in a way that makes them have an impact, without killing the momentum of what's an action movie at its heart. I can't comment on how carefully the plot sticks to that of the manga, as I haven't read it. Azumi is an orphaned girl raised with 9 other orphans by a master swordsman. He plans to one day unleash them as assassins to kill the various warlords that are responsible for the devastating, re-occurring wars throughout Japan. As the designated day for the plan grows closer, Azumi and her companions face one final, brutal test, and then go out into a world that is far more complicated than the secluded environment they were raised in. The fanciful and stylized fight choreography isn't the best that I've seen, but it more than suffices. There are times that the warriors standing around in the battle scenes waiting their "turn" are hard to ignore, but that's a pretty minor complaint. There are some pretty cool and memorable moments, as well. The battles are frequent and entertaining, and the levels of bloody carnage are noticeable, without being overly gratuitous. There isn't any definite thing I can point to as the main reason why I liked Azumi so much. It's true that it's another of countless similar sword-fighting movies set in ancient Japan, but it's well-made and enjoyable. If you'd like a satisfying action flick with a very pretty girl as the lead and a few genuinely sad moments, this is a good movie to try.

conradz58 Azumi is the best movie that the Japanese has ever made! It's bloody, superb, thrilling, motivated and stunning movie of all time!Azumi played by Aya Ueto, a pretty and cute chick who managed to defeat all the enemies who's wanting to start a war against each other and Azumi and her other friends survived to load a lot of guts to battle against to those who wants the war.Aya Ueto has done an amazing job, doing all that swords scenes and motions, she's done an amazing job!I must say, this is the greatest Japanese film that you will ever wanna see for yourselves. The crew and the director has put a lot of effort from turning Azumi from a manga comic into a Movie that's ever been so amazing!10/10