Lone Samurai - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Lone Samurai



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Lone Samurai is one of those flicks where I had a completely different expectation of the film prior to reviewing it. And it was mostly due to my own ignorance. When I saw the trailer for the film, I watched about half of it and said, “Cool! I love classic Samurai films. The more the merrier!” and simply waited for my review copy to arrive so I could see it without spoilers. Little did I know that this was not your typical samurai film, and was not shot by a Japanese director. Instead, it was shot by a California native, who took Shogen as his lead character, and crafted a film that is part 13th-century Castaway, coupled with heavy bits of Apocalypto and The Green Inferno into a strange hybrid of art-house drama and savage horror film with martial arts underpinnings. If that alone piques your interest, then I highly suggest checking it out.

The first 40% of the film is high on drama and low on action. Giving us a classic samurai suicide tale, based around the 1274 attempted invasion of Japan by Kubla Khan, Riku (Shogen) and a bunch of other hand-picked samurai were chosen as a suicide squad to hunt down the Khan’s ships and kill as many of the enemy as possible before they make it to Japan. A huge storm ends up taking the ship that Riku’s on down, and soon, the man is the lone survivor on a distant Polynesian island. There, he has to figure out how to survive as best as he can until his will breaks, and he’s on the verge of suicide.

And this is where things get interesting. At around the 40-minute mark, poor Riku is about to commit Seppuku (Japanese ritual suicide) when he is captured and taken to another island by a roving group of natives. There, he’s chained up and left as a prisoner, where he realizes that this isn’t your regular prisoner of war. This is a group of cannibals who use their prisoners as food for the tribe, and being that he’s the newest guy there, the samurai witnesses the barbaric acts that await him. Rekindling his will to live, Riku’s inner warrior is forced to come out, and now the savages have to contend with a REAL monster. A man who is in control of his emotions and body, and can take them all if he has to.

As I mentioned above, the first 40 minutes of the film really play out like a Japanese version of Castaway. Riku is seen crafting weapons, food, tools, and other various implements as he struggles with his own internal despair. Combine that with the stunning cinematography of the locations, and this is a strangely hypnotic part of the movie. But the 2nd half (or 60% really) of the movie changes pace DRAMATICALLY once the cannibals show up. From there, the flick goes completely gonzo, with horrific victim butcherings, martial arts action, and a fantastic battle at the end between Riku and the two lead villains (Rama Ramadhan and Yayan Ruhian from The Raid films and John Wick 3).

Lone Samurai is a weird movie, but a fun one at that. I, for one, am all for it. Sure, there are some problems with the pacing, especially in the first half. And the 2nd half is a bit crazy for sure, but the hybridization of horror, drama, and classic martial arts into a frenetic 95 minutes of fun is something I didn’t see coming. And one that I’m glad I experienced too.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

As I mentioned in my 4K UHD review, there is scant infromation online about the technical specifications for this relase, but I'm guessing a digital shoot with a native 4K master judging by how the other disc looked. This is an impressive shoot that really shines with the artistic cinematography. Thick greens and oceanic blues dot the island landscape where our hero resides, and even the dark caves where the cannibalistic natives live show off some impressive colors (albeit a bit more muted than the luscious outdoor landscape shots). Fine details are magnifcent for 1080p, and while not AS revealing as the stunning 4K UHD disc, still manages to capture a ton of intimate details along the way. Sand under the feet, seeping wounds, shadow details in the cannibal's cave. The list goes on and onn. I did notice a bit of banding here and there, but only for brief instances and then they're gone. Overall this is a fantastic looking Blu-ray disc, pushing the format to it's limits on this 50 gig disc (although it sadly doesn't have the Black and White version as the special feature unlike it's 4K cousin).









Audio:

Simultaneously, the Japanese Dolby Atmos track mimics the picture-perfect video with another 5/5 scoring. Large chunks of the film are down in complete verbal silence, instead making heavy use of the ambient effects and physical exertion grunts from our hero to fill in the speakers. And in those cases, they are done incredibly well. I have never heard a feature film’s ambient sound usage be this visceral and present in the sound stage. You can hear everything from a foot scraping across the ground to the long island grasses scraping against each other in the wind. Surround use is impeccable, and the overheads get a lot of activity with the above-mentioned environmental sound usage. And while the track labels itself as Japanese, only Ruki (and the people in his mental flashbacks) actually speak it. The cannibals do speak, but it’s not labeled anywhere, so I’m not sure WHAT language they are actually talking in. Bass is punchy and fresh, adding a nice layer to the action sequences, and amping up some of the environmental effects (such as that massive, beautiful waterfall).












Extras:

• Lone Samurai in B&W

Final Score: ​

I admittedly was a bit surprised by Lone Samurai as I glossed over the trailer and just assumed “sweet, another classic samurai film,” and just requested the review copy to check out. So the subtle changes between Castaway and Apocalypto/The Green Inferno. I came out of this viewing a bit shocked, but ultimately pleased with the direction that was taken. It’s a fun change of pace over your average samurai film, and still manages to keep some great fight sequences along the way. Audio and video are simply to die for, and while the extras are slim, they’re much more than we usually get with Well Go USA. Sadly the extras for this one dip a bit as there is only a theatrical trailer, and the film forgoes the black and white version that we saw on it's 4K UHD cousin. Most likely due to space requirements. Still definitely worth checking out as this is a much different samurai flick than I expected, and worth a good watch if the trailer interests you.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Shogen, Yayian Ruhian, Rama Ramadhan, Faisal Rachman
Directed By: Josh C. Waller
Written By: Josh C. Waller
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: Japanese: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English, Japanese DD 2.0
Subtitles: English, French
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 95 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: March 17th, 2026

Recommendation: Recommended as a Solid Watch