Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

the_Poppuns I rented this movie to see Hiroyuki Sanada. Of course he looked gorgeous in it as usual so for that I'm grateful. However the rest of the movie I'm not too sure about. It's a story about demons and using them to curse other people, stuff like that. But my problem is while watching it I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a kids movie or a movie for adults. The cheesiness of it made me think it was for kids but there is a vampire type character and strange fighting scenes that would probably be inappropriate for children. On top of that I was simultaneously reminding of both Return to Witch Mountain and Mortal Kombat (the movie). So I don't know what to think.Another big problem that is endemic of Japanese movies are these awful effects. I almost wonder if they make it look bad on purpose so it won't be so realistic and therefore less upsetting. But in this and at least Ichi the Killer, I saw effects that stopped me dead in my tracks to think "Geez, that is so cheap looking". I think it was Zatoichi that I stopped about 10 minutes in because of the silly effects. I can't take something seriously if the effects look like they were done with Silly Putty, Kool-Aid, and Microsoft Paint. When I think of Japan, I almost immediately think of technology so this makes no sense. If they're doing it on purpose, Stop It! The story was okay I guess and the acting was passable. But I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. If you're the type who like sword fighting movies this isn't what you're looking for because there is only one scene like that and only one guy has a sword. It's really about magic, uninteresting magic at that.

screaminmimi I agree with just about everything Jaida says, except that I wasn't a fan of Sanada-sama's going into it. This was only the second movie of his I'd seen, the first being "Tasogare Seibei." This was the movie that, because of the vast difference between the two characters of Doson and Seibei, made me fall in love with Sanada's acting.It's worthwhile to note that this was Nomura Mansai's first major film role, having come from a Noh background. He didn't overplay or stylize the way you might expect a Noh actor to do on film, but there was something not quite right about his performance... all the good things Jaida said I agree with, but I also felt like Nomura was standing outside and commenting on stuff. I suppose Sanada was guilty of it too. If that's the film's self-consciousness, it wasn't uniform. Perhaps it was a choice to represent these two sorcerers as standing outside human reality, but the other sorcerers didn't behave this way.I'll have to watch it again to appreciate the cheesier effects as part of an intentional package. Again, though, the cheesiness wasn't uniform. Some of the effects were technically perfect and dazzling and just made the cheesy ones seem even cheesier.I must say I didn't like Ito Hideaki's performance at all, except when he was doing things that didn't require him to speak. He's darned cute, and maybe he'll be an actor some day. On the other hand, Takita got a lot of bang for the buck from Koizumi Kyoko, yet another pop star turned actress, and a great performance from a real actress, Natsukawa Yui. She was awesome. I don't know why no one mentions her. I would have to say "Onmyoji" is a hell of a lot more feminist than "Genji Monogatari," and the feminism was on fire in Natsukawa's performance. Emoto Akira as her father was strangely not weird. He was good, but I've come to expect him to be weird and good. He was just Dad here.Also, this just betrays my Nihon-eiga geekiness, Kishibe Ittoku is one of the better ex-rockstar actors in Japan. I'd love to see him carry a picture as a lead. I never recognize him from one role to the next, except for his voice, and in "Onmyoji," not even his voice gave him away. He's always fun to watch.

cjmoore1251 I was born in Tokyo, Japan and although my mother is Japanese, during my younger years she wanted my brothers and myself to be "American" so we were not taught much about our Japanese culture. Now that I am much older I want to learn as much as possible about every facet of that side of my family. Watching Onmyoji, even though it is fantasy gives me some insight as to why some things are done the way they are. I watch my mother going through different rituals and understand a little better why. The movie was very good and even my very American daughter enjoyed it and asked questions about what was going on. She was glad she watched the movie with me.

kamariah_hk I think this is really a great Japanese fantasy film ever made. I love to see the actor in a costume as (Abe No Seimei). Congratulation to the great actor (Nomura Mansai) as he is able to make the character as Abe No Seimei like real person. Since I watch this movie, I start to know more about Nomura Mansai. He is really good in acting and I adore him so much. I hope to see more him acting in other Japanese fantasy movie as well the continue of Onmyoji 3 and so on. credit to Nomura Mansai.... Keep up your good work. And credit also to the director of Onmyoji 1 and 2. Keep up your good works.... Please continue to make this great film.... make the continue of Onmyoji 3,4,5......To people who not yet seeing this film....It is a must see film.... you won't regret....trust me....