this film have the ingredient to be great both the fight director and the main star of versus and which i love but they make a totally forgettable movie . the villain be uninteresting and the character be one dimensional and and all the cool concept weren not execute well at all . for instance and there be a bad guy in the beginning with a huge sword like cloud in ff7 . he die almost immediately after swing it around a few time . the director and star be so pretentious in the making of documentary . period drama be a staple of japanese cinema and so we decide to do something completely different with it and to reinvent it and create a type of action never see before . the costume be all weird and gothic and and in some case and almost futuristic . i think this have potential since it be really stylize . i have my doubt about the heat seek missile from a samurai rocket launcher and but it be the motorcycle that ruin it for me . cause if there one thing that period piece be lack in and it motorcycle . they put some chain on it and which do nothing . anachronism can work wonderfully in historical fantasy and but this time it be plainly obvious that the filmmaker be try desperately to be cool and fail . my big problem be the fight choreography and especially after see it execute so well in versus . the star and tak sakaguchi and be a fighter in real life who be brawl in the street before ryuhei kitamura find him and cast him in versus . no wonder he a good stuntman . in this film and he decide to come up with a new type of action never see before . the underlying principle of this amazing revolution of action cinema . actually hit people . that his idea and his contribution to stuntwork . first of all and it common practice in hong kong cinema where contact be require and and they usually use shield under their clothing . so his innovation be nothing new . do this new kind of action add anything to the film . not at all . for one and i do not even notice he be actually hit people . the difference be imperceptible . here the stupid part it actually look bad . rather than choreograph something really cool like an exchange of block and dodge and punch and and kick with maybe some acrobatics and his revolutionary new technique consist of him just do rapid fire punch to the torso of the poor stuntmen who have to work with him . the sword work be the same back and forth swing little kid do when they play sword fight . i be not kid . almost all of the fight scene consist of one hit kill on disposable bad guy with the same back and forth motion . no variation . no high and low . no fancy spin . just back and forth . they use wire work and occasional camera trick to spice it up and but many of the sequence be do in long shot and which make it glaringly obvious that a circle of opponent be approach one at a time to be punch ten time in the chest in real life and then die . at least cover that stuff up with close ups and edit . additionally and the plot be incoherent . i keep expect a moment where all would be reveal and but it never come . it not even symbolic or profound . the star himself say and when i read the fourth draft and i think that it be absolute crap . so thought i would save it with my acting . ( this be the fourth draft . oh my god . ) and his effort do not work . especially since he play the same character in every movie represent the anime badass who be annoy all the time and say urusei . to everybody . i think the best part and action wise be when they have a capoeira guy do some cool invert kick and handstand and flip . then he be dispatch by the actor punch him in real life . the only thing that rope me in when i start watch be the production design . all of the costume and prop show great potential for something really interesting and original and then fail to deliver on that promise . and i do not know the zombie enemy be even zombie until they be call that in the documentary . they do not look like zombie at all while they be just moan people dress all in black with silly hood over their head . i do not mean that to be dismissive of their costume their hood be quite silly by hood standard while they resemble a jester hat . fan of a good gothic fantasy set in ancient japan will be disappoint since the filmmaker only imply a plot without come up with one . last time i check and the movie in which tak sakaguchi play a battle love badass who have a hidden reserve of power foreshadow throughout the film only to be reveal at the climax be call versus . after five year and the best they can come up with be versus minus the story and fight choreography set in a different time period . i hope theyre proud . action connoisseur will be very disappointed since the fight choreography be uninteresting and repetitive 90 % of the time . it sad when the best fight scene in the film be the one with the gun and and not the hand to hand exchange or swordfights . if youre not picky about violence and just want to see an actor beat stuntmen uninterestingly and then this film be for you . frankly and i felt betray .