76
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghCasually paced and filled with telling detail, Yamada's delicate drama with swordplay (there's not much, but what there is packs an emotional wallop) transcends its specific setting in its depiction of Katagiri's internal struggle.
- 83Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe Hidden Blade is tranquil, touching, and, in its climactic sword fight, excitingly real.
- 83Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean AxmakerSeattle Post-IntelligencerSean AxmakerThe restrained drama both punctures the mythic ideal of the samurai culture (trained as fighters, they mostly serve as clan bureaucrats) and spins a romantic portrait of one man who values principle over protocol despite the cost to his reputation.
- 80Village VoiceMichael AtkinsonVillage VoiceMichael AtkinsonYamada's decidedly undazzling yet expressive filmmaking approaches classicism, from a sensei training session captured in one lengthy shot to the final showdown, seen with shifting points of view that suggest a relativist unease with the cut-and-dried judgments of war culture.
- 75The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayBuilds slowly--maybe too slowly--to a mano-a-mano standoff, just like "The Twilight Samurai," and just like the earlier film, the new one presents its climactic swordfight matter-of-factly, with no superheroics and a lot of hesitation.
- 75New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanBoth epic and intimate, this impassioned samurai drama is for anyone who's ever watched a movie and muttered, "They just don't make 'em like they used to."
- 75San Francisco ChronicleRuthe SteinSan Francisco ChronicleRuthe SteinDeeply affecting, "Blade'' portrays an oddly elegant way of life that will soon be like the era in that other movie, "Gone With the Wind."
- Though less powerful than Mr. Yamada's "Twilight Samurai" (2002), The Hidden Blade is an affecting portrait of the impact of profound change on people with limited options.
- 70SalonAndrew O'HehirSalonAndrew O'HehirIt's a sensitive, slow-moving 19th century samurai drama that will appeal to that tiny cadre of filmgoers who savor the classic Japanese films of Mizoguchi and Inagaki.
- 63New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoBears more than a passing resemblance in story and form to "The Twilight Samurai," but stands on its own as a pleasant, if unremarkable, romance.