| G.I Samurai (1980) Cast:Sonny Chiba,Isao Natsuki Sonny Chiba stars as a modern age Japanese soldier who someway, somehow goes back in time to the samurai days while there he befriends a local general (Natsuki) and looks to take over ancient Japan and rule it side by side with the general but after battling and seeing his modern technology fail in battle against the soldier's will to win, he finds it's not as easy as he thought and worse of all is that their allies fear god's wrath for messing with time and fear that the punishment will be on them as well. G.I Samurai prefigures The Philadelphia Experiment, The Terminator and Back To The Future and here the story is so well crafted and poignantly told, I'm frankly sad it's labeled as a kung fu picture. Indeed G.I Samurai is much, much better than most of any martial arts bargain bin flick you'll ever find. This movie is well made, with great action and some effective character development. The most interesting thing about G.I Samurai is how much in common it has with the excellent Southern Comfort. In both films the story about technology not doing much against familar terrain is a message that gives this movie some sobering depth. Indeed the downbeat finale, the message of changing history and of course the idea that time always evens itself provide this with much interesting results. Indeed the one flaw is the subplot featuring mutiny among Chiba's men, but through out the film the modern soldiers learn what real warfare is about. In one particular good scene a soldier resists shooting a child because of his norms only to then be stabbed by said kid, to which he blankly says "The days of the samurai." It's a movie with a lot of dramatic moments and in all respects it succeeds as science fiction with depth. The fight sequences are also very exciting but it's the story and ambitions taken that make it the gem it is. D.Kosei Saitoi***1/2 |