Viewed in
2011
Formats
TV
Premise
Forest Whitaker stars as an urban hitman living by the samurai code. Directed by Jim Jarmusch.
Liked
The cool style.
Disliked
The typical Jarmusch pace.
Thoughts
Movies directed by Jarmusch are an acquired taste. I am not a fan. After slogging through Dead Man I swore that I would not watch another of his films. Good thing I didn't realize that he was the director of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai until I started watching.
It was definitely entertaining. Forest Whitaker was perfect for the role, as a hitman who exuded mystery, kindness, and lethality in every scene. The premise was a nice twist on the mobster hitmen genre. I enjoyed the odd moments, such as a hitman so old-school he still uses carrier pigeons, and befriending an ice cream man who cannot speak English.
Throw in The RZA's kick-butt score, unexpected slick cinematography, and editing trickery, Jarmusch created some really cool moments of samurai-mobster badassery mixed with philosophical meanderings.
The pace was still ridiculously slow, and the constant character ramblings about life and and honor got repetitive and felt inconsequential. But that's his style. At least this time, the film had interesting characters and a decent story.
I like weird films, and this had the right amount of weirdness for me to enjoy.
What I would change
Nothing. I may not be a Jarmusch fan, but I wouldn't want his movies done any different.
