Shogun's Shadow (1989) Poster

(1989)

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8/10
Decent and Thrilling
drunkenjedi4205 September 2005
At first this movie is a Sword battle, it then turns into a Drama/Action movie.

The characters are great, and the fight scenes are almost Unreal. This unrealism makes it even more exciting. Sword fighters jumping from Trees 100 feet to the ground. Intense slashing scenes coupled with nice disciplined moves.

There are great characters in the movie and it has a real feel to it. I almost at one point felt like I was in the 1800's following in on the action.

All in all I would say this movie is just nothing but great!
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7/10
Cool samurai/adventure film
Yocke3 June 2004
This was a cool samurai/adventure film. Lots of swordplay action, and lots of other cool action scenes too. Too bad Sonny Chiba's not in it more than he is though. He plays the main villain, so we don't get to follow him as much as the team of heroes.

The story is about a child who is the heir to become the next shogun, but the bad guys doesn't want that. They want some other kid to become the next shogun instead. Anyway, to become the next shogun the kid has to be in a certain temple at a certain time, and it's up to the good guys to get him there, and the bad guys try to stop them.

This is pop-samurai action at its best. Go look for it.
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8/10
A great and overlooked Samurai movie.
gvis15 October 2019
When I was eagerly chasing Asian movies about 5 years back this movie never popped up for some reason. I discovered it by some rare movie website. I'm sure glad I did.

This movie has all the ingredients for a movie of my taste: sword fights, nice scenery and a moving story.

The story isn't too deep; a young kid is a heir to a shogun title, his older brother hates that and wants him dead. About 7 samurai take up a journey to bring the kid safely to his destination.

Not the most compelling story, I know, but this is an action movie. The scenes and scenery are enough to keep me interested. My only problem was the cheesy hair metal song that was played during one of the battle scenes. Other than that, this movie is recommended for fans of action/adventure movies.
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9/10
One of the best 80s samurai action flicks
Tyrke20 February 2015
I love this movie! This is a fast-paced action movie from 1989. Even though it can be considered a jidaigeki (Edo period drama), in many aspects (pacing, character development, gore) it reminds me of the Shaw brothers wuxia movies. What it lacks in depth and intricacy, Shogun's Shadow more than makes up in action sequences, above average camera-work and matching soundtrack. For samurai buffs, who like hardcore, slow-paced Edo-epics, this might be a bit cheesy, but for people (including myself) who love movies such as The Five Deadly Venoms or Invincible Shaolin, Shogun's Shadow will be an entertaining 1 hour 46 minutes with sword-slashing ronin, epic standoffs and some banging J-rock interludes.
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9/10
One of the best samurai-movies I have seen
Maxibon5 February 2002
This is a great movie, if you don't take it too seriously. The hero-characters are very different from each other, and their unique abilities makes them a great team. I love this movie - it's great fun to watch.
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8/10
A must-watch!
anders-olsen8029 April 2023
Another one in a line of beautifully crafted Asian movies. Brilliant cast, brilliant direction, and well written. Like other movies such as Farewell My Concubine, this is a real treat for anyone who likes quality Asian cinema.

It has a well balanced amount of drama and humour, but also some well choreographed action, which again is part of this style. I will not dwell too much of the plot itself as it is better to just watch the movie. However, the movie is not very predictable, and its characters are very three dimensional with both likeable characters, some great anti-heroes and brilliant villains.

Don't wait, give it a watch.
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