Bunraku (2011)

16% of critics liked it
(19 reviews)
51% of users liked it
(2,791 ratings)

A mysterious drifter (Josh Hartnett) and an ardent young Japanese warrior Yoshi (Gackt) both arrive in a town that has been terrorized by outrageous and virulent criminals. Each is obsessed with his separate mission, and guided by the wisdom of The Bartender (Woody Harrelson) at the Horseless… More A mysterious drifter (Josh Hartnett) and an ardent young Japanese warrior Yoshi (Gackt) both arrive in a town that has been terrorized by outrageous and virulent criminals. Each is obsessed with his separate mission, and guided by the wisdom of The Bartender (Woody Harrelson) at the Horseless Horseman Saloon, the two eventually join forces to bring down the corrupt and contemptuous reign of Nicola (Ron Perlman), the awesomely evil "woodcutter" and his lady Alexandra (Demi Moore), a femme fatale with a secret past. This classic tale is re-vitalized and re-imagined in an entirely fresh visual context, set in a unique world that mixes skewed reality with shadow-play fantasy, a place where even the landscape can betray you. -- (C) Picturesque Films

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 58 min.
Directed By: Guy Moshe
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Sep 30, 2011 Limited
On DVD: Nov 1, 2011
Studio: Cinedigm Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
It should surprise no one that visually quirky, graphic-novelish, pulp-noir action flicks rarely come through the sausage machine intact.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
It's not difficult to see why this movie - which reportedly cost $25 million - has been looking for a release date since it was finished more than three years ago.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
Extremely cool-looking in the manner of "Sin City,'' but clumsily staged, slackly acted and mind-numbingly dull...
Andy Webster, New York Times
A potpourri of genres that ends up a morass of clichés.
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
"Bunraku" is so desensitizing with its hyper-stylized distractions and movie references it feels more mush-up than mash-up.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
You can tell the makers of "Bunraku'' were really excited about creating a cool, new movie world, because that's all the movie is: 118 minutes of effects, art-direction, and genres.
Diva Velez, TheDivaReview.com
Bunraku is an audacious effort that deserves a look for its ambitious production and enjoyable shamelessly over-the-top comic book aesthetics. If only its script bore as much thought or inspiration.
John Hartl, Seattle Times
One long, extensively choreographed fight sequence in which "mortal" blows are delivered so often, and with so little lasting impact, that a brawl just becomes a brawl becomes a brawl.
Alison Willmore, AV Club
Bunraku's premise involves a level of fanboy wankery that makes Sucker Punch look restrained.
Eric Hynes, Time Out New York
Bunraku aspires to be Kill Bill: Vol 3; it's more like an ornate pitch for a Dick Tracy reboot.
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
A mega mash-up in the vein of Sucker Punch, Bunraku jumbles together elements with a self-consciousness that's as turgid as its story proper.
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com
An overstylized, overwritten, overinflated jumble that doesn't have a clue when to quit. It's definitely colorful and eager to please, but a little of this convoluted mess goes a long way.
Ethan Alter, Television Without Pity
Midnight movie fans as well as graphic artists will appreciate the style of the picture, if not the substance... mainly because there's not much substance to be found at all.
Matt Singer, IFC.com
What do Hartnett and Geckt want with Perlman? Mostly, I think, they're just looking for excuses to get into elaborate kung fu fights.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
Completely pointless and utterly unwatchable...
Chris Bumbray, JoBlo's Movie Emporium
A fun action flick distinguished by the stunning visuals.

Read all 16 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Emily A

What a very strange movie. It looks like it was shot on the same soundstage (and with the same crew) as Repo! The Genetic Opera, with its lush and surreal colour scheme and odd use of animation in the narrative. In this world, there are no backgrounds, only trompe d'oeil… More
What a very strange movie. It looks like it was shot on the same soundstage (and with the same crew) as Repo! The Genetic Opera, with its lush and surreal colour scheme and odd use of animation in the narrative. In this world, there are no backgrounds, only trompe d'oeil paintings, and people often hang chandeliers outdoors while cultivating rock gardens in their homes. I get the feeling that more interesting things could have been done in a movie world where the mob is in full force but guns don't exist. I think one of the biggest troubles of this movie is the fact that all the characters are so terribly, otherworldly cool that the writers and actors forgot to make them real. I couldn't connect with anyone. Everyone was as invincible, or sullen, or artificially flawed as the heroes of Livejournal poetry. They are simply instruments upon which to hang all the novel ideas of this film, but I really didn't care about what happened to anyone. Actually, I'd like to see another story, written by someone else that takes place in this diegetic world. Hmm. Off to read fanfic!
Steve K

Style to spare but nothing else to offer. Unoriginal, thin, overlong, and often silly.
Justin Y

Guy Moshe's Bunraku goes heavy on the visuals, but is that enough?The pacing of the story is consistently moderate; however, it is the film's style and storytelling that really drags this 2 hour picture down. Very film noir in nature, the… More
Guy Moshe's Bunraku goes heavy on the visuals, but is that enough?The pacing of the story is consistently moderate; however, it is the film's style and storytelling that really drags this 2 hour picture down. Very film noir in nature, the constant narration and background music becomes tiresome. Combining that with the visual look, which is a mix between a comic book and the Bunraku Japanese puppet theater style where this film gets its title from, turns things into a monotonous piece of work.The action contains some promise with the choreography and the bloody violence, for the most part, is held in check; although there is enough to warrant an R rating.Similarly with the film's tone, the performances by the likes of Josh Hartnett, Woody Harrelson, Gackt, and Ron Perlman are all colorless and dry. Kevin McKidd tends to standout from the rest with some spark in his character.Bunraku does have its artistic elements, but in the end things turn out less entertaining than expected.
Christopher H

Along the lines of "Sin City" and "Watchmen", "Bunraku" creates an artistic and graphically induced world while steering clear of the laughable and pretentious world of a film like "The Warrior's Way". The characters are interesting with… More
Along the lines of "Sin City" and "Watchmen", "Bunraku" creates an artistic and graphically induced world while steering clear of the laughable and pretentious world of a film like "The Warrior's Way". The characters are interesting with the actors fitting their parts surprisingly well. The visuals are up to par with high budget films, with many of the stories being told through paper cutouts. The fight scenes grow slightly extended, but with the "Kill Bill"-like set up to the villains, the viewer is constantly engaged in the story.
Remi L

The word is style. This movie is western, Asian, video game, comedy, drama, action, and play. If anything, this movie should win the award for Best Set Design. I absolutely loved the fact that the background was made out of paper with gorgeous soft lighting behind it. Ron Perlman was… More
The word is style. This movie is western, Asian, video game, comedy, drama, action, and play. If anything, this movie should win the award for Best Set Design. I absolutely loved the fact that the background was made out of paper with gorgeous soft lighting behind it. Ron Perlman was cool as always and I love that Demi Moore played his woman and not some faceless actress half his age. Kevin McKidd was awesome as the slick-suited Killer #2, Woody Harrelson was probably playing himself for all I know, but he was fun as always, and Josh Hartnett and Gackt made for entertaining but flawed heroes (flawed in a good way, made them more human). Bunraku is the story of a gunless cowboy (Hartnett) and a swordless samurai (Gackt) both out seeking revenge on the crime boss of a small town named Niccola (Perlman). Again, Perlman was just too smooth. This film could've been more exciting, which is my only critique. Interesting premise that just came off as tame in the long run. But the cinematography. So excellent.
Jay R

Interesting idea... cool visuals... weak execution. Too bad, cause it has a really cool cast and a lot of style.
John M

It has stars BUT the execution is bad, the narrator voice is annoying, the fight scenes are too long that turn boring, well... the complete movie has dragged pacing, and the artistic look fail. The movie running time is 118 minutes and I just watched an 50 minutes or so of boredom… More
It has stars BUT the execution is bad, the narrator voice is annoying, the fight scenes are too long that turn boring, well... the complete movie has dragged pacing, and the artistic look fail. The movie running time is 118 minutes and I just watched an 50 minutes or so of boredom because I couldn't stand to watch a minute more.\ Boring+poor executed+uninteresting="Bunraku"