‘11 Rebels’ Review: A Dirty Near-Dozen Deliver the Goods in a Rip-Roaring Samurai Spectacle

variety.com:

Richard Kuipers A decades-old unproduced screenplay set during Japan’s 1868-’69 civil war has been dusted off and given thoroughly modern action-movie treatment in Kazuya Shiraishi’s “11 Rebels.” A highly entertaining and highly blood-drenched take on the trusty old tale of crooks and miscreants embarking on a military suicide mission on the promise of being pardoned should they happen to survive, “11 Rebels” has just the right balance of spectacular swordplay, revenge-fueled drama and double-crossing political intrigue.

After opening the Tokyo Film Festival, Shiraishi’s lusty samurai slash-’em-up will march into Japanese cinemas on Nov. 1. A slightly different version of the film has been acquired for North America by specialty distributor Well Go USA.

Fans of FX’s smash-hit “Shogun” series should find plenty to like about this handsomely produced tale set in the dying days of feudal Japan.

In the broader scope of samurai cinema, it combines the chamber drama formality of the genre’s Akira Kurosawa-led 1950s and ’60s heyday with the bloody extravagance of more recent examples such as Takashi Miike’s “Blade of the Immortal.” Best known for hard-boiled crime dramas such as “The Blood of Wolves” and serial killer thriller “Lesson in Murder,” Shiraishi first turned his attention to samurai period dramas with the elegant “Bushido,” released locally in May 2024, and has followed quickly with this blood-and-thunder entry.