Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

nicholls_les I thought this was going to be of Ong Bak quality, especially with Buakaw Banchamek in it, but sadly he is the only good thing about this movie.His fights when training are exceptionally good, his power is evident throughout but Seigi Ozeki as the lead character just didn't pull it off. He appeared weak both in character and in Martial Arts skill.The story is not a bad one, based on a true story apparently, but it just isn't executed well at all. The fight direction for the last scene was particularly poor and unrealistic.This is not a film I will be watching again.

Leofwine_draca YAMADA, WAY OF THE SAMURAI is another historical Thai martial arts flick along the lines of BANG RAJAN, although it's a far cry from the quality of that movie. This is a low-budget misfire that purports the tell the true story of a Japanese samurai warrior who finds himself fighting on the side of the Thais against some evil oppressors and assassins.The story's okay but the execution isn't. For an action film, YAMADA, WAY OF THE SAMURAI is remarkably short on fight scenes. There are a few scenes of training and the like, but the action is limited to only one battle scene and the final fight. While the hard-hitting choreography is acceptable, too much of the fighting is hidden behind poor added effects; silly slow-motion to emphasis the hits early on, and rubbishy CGI sword thrusts and spraying blood later. It hardly makes for a realistic viewing experience.The script is minimalist and the characters largely one-dimensional. Seigi Ozeki has zero screen presence as the lead and his character is largely a bore. The Thai actors fare better, but the kind of elbow-slamming action you'd expect from a Thai martial arts flick is in short supply. Instead we get a predictable story and a dull narrative lacking in genuine incident.

Julien Ranke I just finished watching the movie so I'm writing the review while it is still fresh. Overall the movie itself isn't good at all. Some of the acting is beyond horrible and almost made me stop the film. Even the main actor is overacting sometimes. The soundtrack isn't horrible but it gets very repetitive after a while. The movie seemly tries to copy the feeling I had when watching The Last Samurai. A nostalgic feeling was tried to create when our main character decides to never return to his fatherland and stay in Ayothaya. It was almost too painful to watch, and it didn't do the film any good.Special Effects are horrible. The blood for example is so fake you don't need to pause the film since it's too obvious.If you're planning on watching this film, be ready for a cliché story a la The Last Samurai and some Special Effects a la Spy Kids 3. Fighting parts are pretty cool overall, but not the best.

rightwingisevil Based on a true historic figure? Wow, maybe only the in comic book? The screenplay and the scenario are just stupid and ridiculous, I just can't believe this is happening, man. The acting of the main characters are just terrible. A Japanese samurai with a mouth lips like a carp can speak Thai, playing flute as the movie's sound track, well, anything is possible in this comic book movie. The master monk's nonstop chewing is exactly like a chain smoker. But none the less, the whole movie was shot beautifully in Thailand countryside with exotic scenic landscape, but the village was designed and built too modern and so clean that even the inspector from the Health Dept. couldn't have find anything unhealthy or cross-contaminated. The traditional Thai warrior fighting technique in this movie is amazingly effective and aesthetically beautiful, making the so-called Chinese martial arts or Japanese karate more like child play. These Thai fighters should be signed up by the UFC or the Strike force to beat the crap out of those MMA fighters. This is a very stupid and very artificial movie. Just watch the fighting scenes, not the other parts, especially the claimed "historic" crap, but definitely 100% better than Jackie Chan's moronic "Karate Kid"