Even if the movie hasn't reinvented the wheel, it at least offers it in a different way. The color scheme and style may not appeal to everyone, but if you're looking for a change from the typical 0815, this could be the right film for you.

This movie is not for the faint of heart. It is for those who love indie movies and good acting. I very much enjoy the combination of the A list actors in a set that's designed to look like paper art (Hence the name Bunraku). It's a classic story of the struggle of power and how the balance is never reached.

I struggle to see the plot in this movie and do not want to waste any further time trying to. It is all over the place. Great cast though.

good cast, good editing, not a masterpiece by any means but absolutely worth watching if you like mediocre action films. enjoyable if not objectively very good

Cant understand the hate. If you like sin city or sneider movies, if you enjoy pulpy martial arts and westerns if u like steven chow movies and wu tang then you will enjoy this colourful melting pot, kungfu-noir western.

The film itself is based on Japanese puppet theater & Bunraku from writer & director Guy Moshe, with a strong cast & Faith No More very own Mike Patton doing the narration, Guy Moshe brings fun action & humour that often feels cartoonish like a modern day version of 1960s Batman.

I generally check from RT if a movie is worth watching but this time I don't really care what the critics say, I enjoyed watching this movie many (and many) times and would watch it again. I watched it over a decade ago and the epic way the story is told, it catches something. You feel the closed, limited atmosphere the movie makes as it reflects the theathe plays and it clicked with me when I first watched the movie. I think after a few critics evaluated harshly, the comformity took over the critics who gave the movie %19 and they watched the movie with a loaded gun, already ready to fire. Five this movie a chance. It is not a clear cut %19, it is not a bad movie. It is just "popular" amongst critics to demolish it and look sophisticated. The movie has a spark in in if you are not closed to it.

When the movie was first announced, I was excited. Traditional Bunraku, Japanese Puppet Theater, is gorgeous and entertaining. This movie did not disappoint in its name sake. Stellar cast and sets. Small nuances in each character provide development as the plot moves forward. One thing is that this movie is most likely a sleeper. Meaning, a following will grow over time. It's not for everyone because of the style used, but that style makes it stand out even a decade later. It has become one of my comfort movies since it came out.

Extremely painful to watch this for two hours. Boring and nonsensical.

Reminds me of a poor Sin City. It had huge potential but went down a generic wel trodden path. You don't need to think, the outcome is obvious. Its a shame to be honest. Why go to so much effort for what is a spectacular looking film and waste it on an average script. Meh. A shame.

Bunkaru is visually inventive and well executed, and consists of some solid fight sequences. Beyond that the movie doesn't really have that much to offer, but it's not necessarily lacking in anything beyond these; the story, dialogue and acting are all decent, and the pacing isn't bad either. I have a high degree of appreciation when a movie with a fair amount of CGI acknowledges that it does not have the budget to make things photo-realistic, so instead they opt to use the CGI to make everything look more like a living painting. This movie, with its flip-book visual presentation, does so very effectively, and as such these bits are always wonderful to look at. The opening sequence in particular is absolutely wonderful, as it's very well written (as far as story narration goes) and the show-don't-tell principle is in full effect here.

Found this DVD in the Dollar Tree. Paid too much. Utter crap.

It's a live-action anime with a stellar cast and an incredibly enticing piece of cinematography. Every transition is mesmerizing and the choreography is on point.

What it does, it does very well. What it doesn't do is give a lot of backstory or explanations. But it's action is exciting, it's visual style is unique, and it never takes itself too seriously. It sets out to be a fun mix of eastern and western movies, and accomplishes this very well.

Its different...I think its very well done.

How can you not like this movie? Has action, a solid story, and visuals that leave you wondering what the next scene will be.

This Movie Just has such a unique style and tone to it that I certainly can't get enough of from the difference in the characters personality and the beautiful choreographed fight scenes and while there are a few missing details that alone shouldn't stop one from enjoying this movie

When I first saw this movie way back when I actually really enjoyed it. At least I remember doing so, hence why I bought the blu-ray. Great cast, neat idea, superb look and more had me really into the whole thing. I have finally got around to re-watching Bunraku, and while I still somewhat enjoyed it, I have a lot more issues this time around. Starting off, Bunraku is a fun style b-movie. I say that because it acts like one. Out there premise, with a not so out there story inside it. Some good performances, and wasted ones. The look that strays from the norm. The feeling of cheapness directly behind the sets. All these things make it an interesting straight-to-DVD feeling film. I love the use of the theater like paper backgrounds, the coloring of the scenes, the weirdness of the villains, and a story that isn't really anything. But, the movie also suffers from pacing issues, length issues, lack of anything truly interesting to watch past the visuals. The movie felt like it was building up to this big fight climax when most of the players have barely had any screen time, or for the good army, and other killers, no screen time. I understand building up the main characters and killers, but why make 10 killers when only one and two really matter. I also felt like Bunraku did a poor job in the pacing department. Everything felt slow, and not in a methodical detail-oriented way. The dialogue was slow, the action, the transitions, everything was slow and it killed the build-up of the film. By the end, I didn't really care what happened, because nothing had that big moment feel to it. It's actually pretty disappointing not liking this film after the second watch. I really wanted it to leave me with my original feelings. But now almost ten years later, I just found myself with my senses dulled by pretty colors and paper mache backgrounds. I still like Bunraku, but I don't think there will be another re-watch in the future.

Most reviews say this movie is visually striking but cliche in plot and lackluster in the character development. I agree with the first two points, though that is not necessarily a bad thing. The final one, though, is wrong, and anyone who says this movie doesn't develop its characters seems to require character development to whack them upside the head in order to see it. The character development in this movie is like strokes of a paintbrush by a master artist: so natural, you almost miss it. It's in the way the characters move, the way they speak, the way Alexandra crushes nuts to get on #2's nerves and the way it physically pains him to hear it. The way the Drifter always breathes in the smoke of others' cigars but never lights his own. The way the Bartender and Alexandra have matching tattoos. The way Yoshi battles with upholding his family's honor, even at the expense of his family. The way Nicola practically begs for something to hold his attention for more than a mere few moments. The fear in the Drifters eyes and movements when faced with heights. The way Yoshi takes more wasabi after some is shoved in his face. The way #2 twinges in fear when Nicola used his axe to chop firewood, and the way Nicola chops the firewood despite having hundreds who could do it for him. It is in the way the Bartender shows so much hope and joy at sticking it to the man. Each stroke works with all of the others to paint each characters canvas. Sure, the plot is simple, but a movie doesn't have to be groundbreaking to be great. This movie deserves so much more than the critics gave it, and it deserves to be given a chance to shine in the spotlight, not in the dark corner it was thrown.

This movie was the most boring thing I have ever watched, I can't remember a single thing about this film