Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Angelus2 Starting off were the first part ended, Azumi has one last target, a target who possesses an army of ninja's, armoured from head to toe, possessing skills to match our very own Azumi.I did not enjoy the first part, very much...I felt the fight scenes were all over the place, while the story-line was sketchy at best and the wrong actors were selected...But in this second instalment's, the production team and cast have found their place.From the first second, the action begins and it does not waver as we follow Azumi through a beautiful forest, with ninja's hot on her tail, but what I found quite satisfying with this second part, was Aya Ueto's improved acting skills...and fighting skills...She is Azumi!The side stories, were just as entertaining. But the honest truth is that this is a hack/slash movie and just like the first, the slicing and dicing comes in bunches..Fantastic.

wierzbowskisteedman There's no denying the first Azumi film was a commercial product; it was an adaptation of a popular manga and had cast of young, attractive actors and certainly wasn't lacking in the budget department. Yet it more than entertained for what it was, and I can't deny I enjoyed it immensely."Azumi 2" lacks just about everything that made the original so wonderful. The first thing that should set alarm bells ringing is the absence of the superb Ryuhei Kitamura at the helm. With him, he seemed to take not only his own visual flair and kinetics, but the originals style, beauty and most importantly, its heart. While the first had a simple "hitlist" plot, this one has a corkscrew mess of a story, with too many dull characters stabbing each other in the back so many times the potential for any sympathy or pathos is obliterated. Gone is the effective interplay between the lead characters; Azumi and her cohorts are often reduced to a bunch of stroppy teenagers arguing in a forest. Characterisation is non existent; if anyone watching actually cares who lives and who dies, I'll be shocked. The same applies to the villains here. The final battle - in fact all the battles - are completely devoid of any sort of tension. The fact that they are poorly choreographed and abysmally directed - not to mention few and far between - is made a sideline by their own sheer pointlessness. The villains themselves try far too hard to be campy, and even if they were all combined, they don't come within a country mile of the Pete Burnsian antics of Jo Odagiri in the original.####Major Spoiler at end of paragraph!##### Aya Ueto tries her best it has to be said, and she also managed to keep her hair in good condition between the films. Azumi is now a fully fledged assassin, meaning she can wave her sword around in slow motion; unfortunately, now the character is instilled with a sort of Man With No Name style mysteriousness, Ueto's model looks become even more inappropriate. I know this is supposed to be the point, but this combined with the ineffectiveness of everyone else in the film, the stupidity of the plot and the general ineptness of the film in general means it is downright impossible to get behind her character this time around. The less said about Chiaki "Remember me from Kill Bill" Kuriyama's performance the better; it suffices to say her "turn" from good to evil is about as subtle as napalm.Overall, this was just a colossal disappointment. Any merits is does have were done ten times better in the first film. A lazy, unsatisfying - and generally downright boring - mess.

siderite This can't be considered a separate film, it's just part 2. It starts exactly where it left off, without any explanations or flashbacks on how it starts. I can only imagine how confused someone can be watching this movie without seeing part 1. The actors are the same, the extras are the same (to the ridiculous point of having a friendly swordsman be interpreted by the same actor that played a killed foe in the first part of the movie AND being credited in the cast with the same character name).However, the plot is more refined, it gets into the psychology of the people involved, the fights are more realistic, the directing is slightly better. In a few words it's exactly how Azumi 1 should have been. Of course, this doesn't make it a masterpiece. The same lame excuses for action and the same Japanese clichés are met all over the place. The only thing new to this part is the implementation of a rival clan of assassins, each specialized in a certain way, thus entering the more popular arena of super-strong ninja fighters. Also guns are used more, but with the same insane inefficiency as in the first part.Oh, and for people reading this without seeing part 1 OR reading my super cool comment on the first part :) this is a movie about a cute diminutive young girl who is the best assassin ever, but still manages to have a conscience, dreams, friends, like any other normal human being. Sorta like Santa.

blacksword83 It's been a long wait for me for the continuation of the original Azumi. Azumi ended at such a crucial point that as soon as an English subbed version of the sequel was available, it was in my hands.Azumi 2 is every bit as touching, amazing and downright brilliant as the first instalment. The characters are as easy to attach to as those in the original film, the battle sequences just as brimming with amazing CGI and breathtaking choreography (the human spider sequence in the bamboo forest will have you gripping your palms 'til they pour with sweat).With a new director on board it was easy to mess this one up, but it shines just as well as its predecessor.Azumi 2 is without a doubt one of the best sequels made for a Japanese film. Lets just hope Hollywood don't buy the rights to create another shoddy remake.