Kenji Misumi's Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance is a deliriously entertaining film borne from a realm of pure imagination. Blood sprays like crimson geysers, limbs fly like debris, and each death is treated like a spectacle straight out of a musical or a production of Shakespeare. Based on the manga series by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, the film follows a wrongfully disgraced samurai named Ogami Ittō who travels the countryside with his infant son seeking vengeance on those who murdered his wife and framed him for heinous crimes against the shogun. He keeps his son is a baby-carriage equipped with several hidden weapons. Did the Japanese even have baby-carriages in this time period, let alone armored ones? It doesn't matter. Admirably, the film's internal logic concerning honor and people's willingness to die and/or kill for others is remarkably consistent. For instance, Ogami is framed for crimes against the shogun when his personal emblem was discovered in a shrine made by Ogami in honor of the people he had executed. Later, Ogami manages to escape an ambush by donning clothes with that same emblem on it. As such, the attackers can't assault him without assaulting the shogun. See what I mean? This kind of consistency is indicative of a well-crafted screenplay and the combined talents of many skilled writers and creators. Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance isn't just a great action film; it's a smart one.
9/10
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