Shinji Higuchi directs <i>The Last Princess</i>, which is a loose remake of Akira Kurosawa's <i>The Hidden Fortress</i>.<p>The story starts out pretty good, as it seems there will be a group of characters making an epic journey across vast lands.… More
Shinji Higuchi directs <i>The Last Princess</i>, which is a loose remake of Akira Kurosawa's <i>The Hidden Fortress</i>.<p>The story starts out pretty good, as it seems there will be a group of characters making an epic journey across vast lands. Unfortunately, this film, that is just under 2 hours, isn't as epic as it sounds. The travels of the characters are a little bland and at the same time, some of the characters lack depth. There isn't enough events to make this an exciting and entertaining film, which is why this is more of a drama than anything else.</p><p>It isn't all bad though. There is some decent swordplay from Hiroshi Abe's character and there are some nice effects with the sword clashing. The film also employs a sweeping sand scene transition, which it uses consistently.</p><p>Jun Matsumoto does an OK job at leading this picture, but the fact to the matter is Hiroshi Abe is the true professional in here. The gorgeous Masami Nagasawa is a good princess, especially in the early going, but sort of slips as her character gets soft.</p><p><i>The Last Princess</i> lacks in some areas, however it is a decent costume fantasy drama worth checking out if time permits.