GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

kluseba Zatoichi on the Road is the fifth entry in the franchise and the third movie released within one year. In my opinion, this movie is the best of the franchise since the charismatic first film that really established everything one appreciates about the blind samurai who uses his head cleverly and his hands quickly. Zatoichi is being taken to a distant town by a caring employee who wants the blind masseur to meet his boss for reasons that are still unknown to the blind masseur. However, the two men get ambushed by a group of samurai who turn out to be opponents of the boss Zatoichi is supposed to meet. The employee is killed but Zatoichi survives and meets the widow of one of the attackers who is going to become an important antagonist. Zatoichi travels on and meets a dying old man who got attacked by a group of samurai. He helped a young woman who attacked her own master who was trying to rape her. The dying man asks Zatoichi to escort the young woman back to her family in the capital. Zatoichi is unable to refuse a dying man's last wish and protects the young woman on his way towards the capital. However, the widow of the samurai Zatoichi killed and several associates want to kidnap the young woman to harm Zatoichi. Zatoichi ends up being caught in a rivalry between the clan who wanted to hire him for a fight and the clan who attempted to assassinate him. Zatoichi realizes both sides only want to use him for their own purposes and turns against both clans while his main objective remains to bring the young lady back to safety.There are several elements that make this movie stand out. First of all, the film features less characters with clearer objectives than the confusing predecessor. Secondly, the movie includes two intriguing female characters. The first is the cool vindicative widow who wants to see Zatoichi dead. The second is the desperate and naive girl who is tracked down by her master's samurai and who really needs Zatoichi's help in order to survive. It's refreshing that the screenwriters didn't try to plug a dramatic love story here as Zatoichi treats the young lady like a caring father and even approaches the sinister widow with respect. Thirdly, the movie constantly builds up tension due to several dramatic kidnappings, short but poignant fight sequences and an epic showdown in an abandoned town that positively recalls some samurai classics like Korusawa's Yojimbo.In the end, Zatoichi on the Road convinces with its quick pace, solid dose of tension and interesting characters, especially the two important female characters which are quite unusual for samurai flicks of that time. Fans of Asian martial arts films should be familiar with this film and collectors and followers of the Zatoichi franchise might see this film as one of the best in the series.

mevmijaumau I really disliked this one. When you see how generic the title "Zatoichi on the Road" is (doesn't he travel around in every movie?), you immediately get the feeling that this particular entry in the franchise is going to be bland and generic. And well, it ended up to be just that. The only things you can gather from this movie is that little kids during the Edo period were d*cks because they loved to mock blind people as it seems, and we also learn what Zatoichi's favorite fruit is (which I'm not going to reveal so that you have a reason to watch the film).The storyline to this film is a bit too reminding of Kurosawa's Yojimbo, which came out two years prior, and the similarities especially get apparent during the final showdown scene where the two rivaling yakuza clans are shown each on one side of the town. The main girl in this episode is unfortunately a screaming damsel in distress, but surprisingly there's no romance between her and Zatoichi. Most of the film is carried by a sluggish pace, which is occasionally broken by a short action scene, usually without build-up.Even on the technical scale is the film a massive step down from the previous episodes. Although the sword-fighting scenes gradually improve as the series go on, it is kinda stupid seeing someone be brutally cut up by a katana, only to face the camera in his dying breath to reveal that his clothes are neither torn nor bloody. I guess this movie was made during the time when real katanas were used on set, but some of its contemporaries nevertheless had awesome fight scenes, so I don't know. The visuals are quite lifeless this time. The movie is mostly shot in pitch black night settings and whenever it's daytime, it has a stunningly boring gray-to-brown color palette. Even the music seems too intrusive at several turns.Highlight of the movie: the cold opening where Zatoichi kicks ass swiftly and with style, also finding time to throw a killer one-liner, "Darkness is my ally." It's a shame that the rest of the film doesn't live up to the 30-second intro.

Tom (bighouseaz) This being the fifth entry in the Zatoichi series, the series has taken on an expected form. Once again, Zatoichi finds himself in the middle of a gang war and tries to do the right thing. The right thing in this case is to spirit a young maiden back to safety in Edo and away from a rapacious samurai.Zatoichi is firmly in control in this entry of the series. This is not always the case. But here, Zatoichi is comfortable, confident, and intimidating. Both gangs treat Ichi with the utmost respect (at least to his face) because of his fighting prowess. This fact is punctuated in the scene where Ichi tries to get the gang war started by asking the other side to send up a challenger to fight one on one. There are no takers!The young maiden is lovely Mitsu (Shiho Fujimura). It's easy to see how Ichi falls for this cute, helpless maiden. Although in the end, Ichi doesn't think he is good enough for her, because she is the daughter of a wealthy merchant.Each good entry in the series has one or two scenes which are unforgettable. For me, the dragonfly scene in On the Road is unforgettable. A lovely moment of a spring day turns suddenly violent for only a few seconds and then peace is restored. How many times do we see villains leap at Zatoichi when he has fallen or is on the ground? That turns out to be a fatal mistake!Overall it's a good entry in the series. It's good to see Ichi get some respect and the love of a charming lady. It's sad to see him march off by himself at the end of the film. Why Zatoichi, why?

masercot This movie had some great sword-fighting sequences, as well as the usual beautiful (but kinda stupid) young woman falling for the blind gambler. I think that the most compelling sequence, though, is where he rescues the young hostage without drawing a sword. There is something about the transformation of the humble blind man to angry, sarcastic avenger that is compelling. It reminds me of those few Columbo episodes where the detective tips his hand early in the episode, for some reason.This movie would be an excellent introduction to the series.