Afro Samurai: Resurrection - Directors Cut (2 Disc)

Oh dear. If ever there was an example of style over content then 'Afro Samurai: Resurrection' is it. It boasts some very fine graphics, an excellent soundtrack and a host of celebrity voices (including Samuel L. Jackson doling out his parody loud-mouth streetwise black kid routine again which would almost certainly be deemed offensive stereotyping were he not black himself).

The trouble is that, despite these often high quality ingredients, and a clearly large investment, the film is as dull as watching a pal play on a violent video game.

I haven't seen the series, but this big movie production sequel is a stinker. With so much in the way of imaginative and beautifully rendered anime out there, it's difficult to understand quite how 'Afro Samurai' has found itself an audience. Of course, with its highly stylised visual look (with every frame grabbed looking mega-cool), its high pedigree hip-hop soundtrack (courtesy of the man behind the Wu Tang Clan) and all those famous voices, including Jackson as well as cult favourites Lucy Liu and Mark Hamill.



The film picks up (apparently) many years after the original 5 episode series. Having slaughtered zillions in at attempt to avenge his Father, Afro has been kicking back. Until now. Sio (voiced by Lucy Liu), the sister of his former friend Jinno (who is now his arch enemy) is out for vengeance herself.
She has the number one headband and when she offers to resurrect Afro's dead daddy to lure him into her trap, he decides to try and locate the number two headband, so that he can challenge her for the number one headband when they meet. (If it all sounds like a lot of fluff and bluster over a couple of grubby headbands then, you're right - it is!).

And that's it really. Of course he has the ever-present wise crackin' sidekick Ninja Ninja with him throughout the adventure (also voiced by Jackson and irritating as hell), and he wanders off, slicing heads, arms and limbs off any one who steps in his way. Finally he faces Sio herself as well as her chosen warrior, the cruelly resurrected ghost of his own Father (or at least someone who looks a whole lot like him).



For those who like the Afro action (like The Matrix fight scenes sped up so you can't see what's happening, other than a lot of bodies being sliced), then you won't be disappointed. There's bloody fighting aplenty here, and some very imaginatively stylised artwork and animation too. But of you want character development, and a story to hang it all on, then this provides incredibly lean pickings indeed.



I also get a sinking feeling that Afro Samurai is really quite offensive on many levels, and not just by being cruelly violent. Afro and Ninja Ninja are, for the most part, racial stereotypes - portraying a questionable stereotype in the name of entertainment. I imagine that Samuel L Jackson will one day look back on some of his work with great pride, and other pieces with a sense of shame for cashing in on the cheap shots. And Afro Samurai will certainly be amongst those.



When you consider all the visual stimulation on offer in Afro, with ultra violence, sex and nudity, and plenty of cussing and a'fussing, you might be excused for imagining it to be quite an exciting 80 minutes. And in the final analysis, this is where it fails most horribly. Because it just drags. The best part of the whole film for me was the end titles.

The fact that this edition comes with all the grandiosity and pomposity reserved for cinematic classics and blockbusters, with a second disc full of 'making of' background and detail, as well as some thinly disguised publicity outings for related product (like the video game which may well be where Afro Samurai can shine), makes me like the film even less. Everyone involved in it seems to have a great sense of achievement. But no amount of marketing spin or lipstick is going to make this pig look any prettier. Or maybe that's a bad simile because one thing that is good about the movie is the 'look'. The stylised animated frames are very distinctive and the comic art is often highly imaginative. But it's horribly let down by a vacuous story and characters that I couldn't care less about.



Video:
Afro Samurai: Resurrection is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture quality is really superb.



Audio:
Afro Samurai: Resurrection is presented in English in 5.1 Dolby Digital. The score fairly pumps throughout and, despite a preponderance of hip hop that seems awkwardly placed; there are also some highly imaginative elements to the score, betraying a musical versatility way beyond the predictable scope of hip-hop on its own.




The extras are a bit dull too. "Afro in Depth" (7 min.) features creator Takashi Okazaki talking about Afro Samurai, "Enter the RZA" (6 min.) is a bit more interesting showing the RZA composing music for the film, including some great foley styled percussion. Clearly a great musical talent. "Afro Samurai: East Meets West" is a two-part documentary with a total running time of 45 minutes that goes behind the scenes of the creation of the movie. "Afro Samurai: The Game" (11 min.) looks at the creation of the Afro Samurai video game, where we get to see programming geeks discussing how they use maths and code to allow for the slicing off of any part of any body in the game. Nice. There is also a video commentary for the first half hour of the movie. Yawn.



Overall
I love the look of 'Afro Samurai' and possibly even the idea of having a cool black dude as the ultimate samurai, mixing ancient history with modern street life (check out the mobile phones). However, I never got around to watching the original series. This movie sequel was, for me, a great disappointment. Because, even if you set aside its potentially indefensible use of ultra-violence and goofy racial stereotyping, the film fails to deliver anything that you wouldn't get watching a friend play an interactive video game. In other words, dull and to be avoided.