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Princess Blade, The
ADV Films


7.8

based on 13 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 6 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for strong violence

Starring Hideaki Ito, Yumiko Shaku, Shirô Sano, Yoichi Numata, Kyusaku Shimada, Yoko Maki, and Takashi Tsukamoto

In this hard-boiled action film, Yumiko Shaku stars as the beautiful princess Yuki of the House of Takemikazuchi, a band of assassins formerly employed as the guard of the Mikado elite. (ADV Films)

GENRE(S):	Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Kei Kunii Shinsuke Sato Kazuo Kamimura (comic) Kazuo Koike (comic)
DIRECTED BY:	Shinsuke Sato
RELEASE DATE:	Theatrical: August 8, 2003
RUNNING TIME:	92 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	Japan
LANGUAGE(S):	Japanese (with English subtitles)

Original title "Shurayuki-Hime"; Grand Jury Prize (Best Feature), 2002 New York International Independent Film & Video Festival

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

The Princess Blade opens with one of the most note-perfect action sequences ever committed to film.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

It's all story, character and dazzling martial arts violence, as orchestrated by fight choreographer Donnie Yen at breakneck speed.

The Hollywood Reporter Richard James Havis

Original and thrilling martial-arts choreography, a lean, hard-driving story and solemn atmosphere make The Princess Blade -- a futuristic tale -- stand way above the pack.

Variety Derek Elley

A martial arts fantasy in modern dress, but set in an unidentified country and era, The Princess Blade is a tough toasted sandwich with a soft filling.

The New York Times Dave Kehr

Not quite good enough to jump out of the pack of Asian swordplay movies but is too well crafted to sink into utter anonymity.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

It suffers from a dreary middle section. Great movie, mediocre script.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

With its stylized, near-surreal comic-book look and roots, The Princess Blade has all the makings of a cult film.

Village Voice Ed Park

Yuki's streamlined revenge story (the furious, elegant choreography is by HK maestro Donnie Yen) has in its modest dimensions a surprising grace.

Film Threat Bradley Gibson

Yumiko Shaku as Yuki is small, beautiful, and stunningly sexy while she plies her deadly skill like a dancer. Her self-assured poise and large expressive eyes say everything that the minimal dialogue doesn’t.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Adventurous viewers will find this unusual genre hybrid an intriguing experience, and Donnie Yen's fight choreography is breathtaking.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

This is a movie about excess. It's excessively long (at least it feels that way), the slo-mo is used in excess (so are the swords), and our heroine, Yuki (Yumiko Shaku), when she does emote, is excessively weepy for a coldblooded assassin.

New York Post V.A. Musetto

Can't decide if it's a martial-arts thriller or a sappy soap opera.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

Despite its origins, nearly every visual and storytelling idea in this green-and-black-tinted martial-arts fantasy seems to derive from "Mad Max," "The Matrix" and/or "The Lord of the Rings."

The average user rating for this movie is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Yuki Y. gave it a9:
One of the best films I've seen in a long while. Cold-steel action against a cold, lean plot. Superb fighting sequences, though Ito is a bit wooden. Great film on the whole.

Pinku S. gave it a 10:
The best film ever! ^__^ My gosh, it's so cool! Yuki is my forever-idol from now on.

Chad S. gave it a 5:
The last thing we want to see a Takemikazuchi do is help clean some guy's backyard. "The Princess Blade" doesn't want to be a genre film so Yuki wears a white dress, and suddenly, she's squeamish about eating stir-fried worms. When Takashi criticizes Yuki about being desensitized by mortality, we're counting the seconds before, well, you know. "The Princess Blade" may remind you of "The Hulk". Both filmmakers forgot that their core audience came to see a lot of ass-kicking. There's some. But there's also too many scenes of Yuko staring at a body of water. Still, "The Princess Blade" is worth a look because it's fun to see a waif beat up a bunch of guys.

E. Love gave it a 4:
I want to give it a five, but I just can't. There were parts where I was quite bored, and was starting to fall asleep. Those were in the middle. The action scenes were decent, and they weren't varied enough to make it "compelling" action. Basically, the action scenes were all the same, Yuki with a sword--which is cool, but not enough to give it higher than a 4.

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Princess Blade, The ADV Films

Princess Blade, The
ADV Films