Onmyoji

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful fairy tale
Review: Onmyoji is kind of a campy supernatural action movie. The acting is pretty terrible but tolerable, the story likewise, and the sfx and editing are a bit worse.

It's a bit sad because it has an interesting premise and lots of interesting myth to draw from. The early scenes have a nice casual, slightly episodic flow, but get gunked up pretty quickly with forced plot movements and cliche scenarios and characters.

Despite the disappointemnt, it's an ok way to kill two hours, and maybe a bit more interesting than the typical action movie, but iwouldn't recommend purchase or even rental.

Rating:
Summary: ...
Review: Onmyoji is kind of a campy supernatural action movie. The acting is pretty terrible but tolerable, the story likewise, and the sfx and editing are a bit worse.

It's a bit sad because it has an interesting premise and lots of interesting myth to draw from. The early scenes have a nice casual, slightly episodic flow, but get gunked up pretty quickly with forced plot movements and cliche scenarios and characters.

Despite the disappointemnt, it's an ok way to kill two hours, and maybe a bit more interesting than the typical action movie, but iwouldn't recommend purchase or even rental.

Rating:
Summary: Too Camp or Not too Camp
Review: Onmyoji is notable both a period piece and an example of the Japanese taste in tales of the magical and monstrous. A jealous woman and a greedy counselor seek to end the power of another courtesan and take the life of the newborn prince. They enlist Doson, one of the Onmyoji - scholar mages whose duty is supposedly to protect the Mikado. Doson has another agenda - he is determined to bring the Mikado down, but his spells are repeatedly brought to nothing by the actions of Minamoto no Hiromaki and the brilliant sage Seimei. Confrontations continue to escalate until all of Heiyan Kyo (which will become Kyoto in another life) is at the brink of becoming a demon kingdom.

While it is easy to summarize the film in a paragraph, what stands out is Director Yojiro Takita's ability to take this story out of the monster movie genre and give it the trapping and movements of traditional Japanese theater. The film's settings are remarkable, as are the costumes and makeup. It's a bit like looking at an old story scroll. Japanese magic depends on chant, gesture, and dance as well as spells written on paper. Is it all authentic? I don't know, but it is easy to imagine that it is so. And on the screen, all the ritual takes on a life of its own.

I think at least some of the perception of campiness that viewers feel is due to the high fantasy approach that Yojiro Takita has adopted. Characters develop very little outside of the friendship of Hiromaki and Seimei. These are characters in masks, following a set of carefully circumscribed actions, much as if Noh drama had been translated into this century. I found it very enjoyable, but not particularly deep. There is enough though so that the film will certainly bear up under rewatching. And anime fans will see parallels all over the place. Think of it as a confection to set before the Mikado.

Rating:
Summary: Campy rendition of legendary subjects
Review: The question here is if you can get past the campiness of this particular rendition. I originally purchased this while at Kinokuniya because I loved the miniseries version of the whole Abe no Seimei legends from (I think) Fuji Television. Although that production had a lower budget, I found that it was better written and soundly produced with better acting for an overall rather good retelling of these fun and compelling sword & sorcery epics from the Heian period.
I had several problems with this rendition. Overall I liked it mostly because I love old tales of the Onmyoji, and I felt that although the treatment of the story was almost Godzilla featurette-esque. Seimei appears here as a omniscient superhero complete with smiling arms-akimbo stance a la those old black & white Superman serials save for the foppish, girlish demeanor given to Seimei by the actor who plays him.

Overall, if you're not looking for a Kurosawa-esque voyage of cinematic mastery, you might like Onmyoji as long as you liked "Creature Double Feature" on Channel 56 when you were younger.

Rating:
Summary: Campy rendition of legendary subjects
Review: The question here is if you can get past the campiness of this particular rendition. I originally purchased this while at Kinokuniya because I loved the miniseries version of the whole Abe no Seimei legends from (I think) Fuji Television. Although that production had a lower budget, I found that it was better written and soundly produced with better acting for an overall rather good retelling of these fun and compelling sword & sorcery epics from the Heian period.
I had several problems with this rendition. Overall I liked it mostly because I love old tales of the Onmyoji, and I felt that although the treatment of the story was almost Godzilla featurette-esque. Seimei appears here as a omniscient superhero complete with smiling arms-akimbo stance a la those old black & white Superman serials save for the foppish, girlish demeanor given to Seimei by the actor who plays him.

Overall, if you're not looking for a Kurosawa-esque voyage of cinematic mastery, you might like Onmyoji as long as you liked "Creature Double Feature" on Channel 56 when you were younger.

Rating:
Summary: ONMYOJI
Review: This film is for those who love beauty. Although there are some disgusting scenes with a child, that I wished they were differently shot. Ugly and disgusting, but, anyway they portray the power of evil spells and intentions manifested themselves in matter and flesh.
The myth and inner truths that the film reflect are pristine. Worth seeing. It is not a film for everybody, therefore try to rent it first. I did buy it and I love it, but some of friends hate it.