In a future with no guns, a town is kept under the thumb of a mysterious warrior known as the Woodcutter (Ron Perlman) who leads an army of red clad thugs headed by the vicious Killer Number 2 (Kevin McKidd). One day two men walk into town, Yoshi (Gackt) a samurai searching for his family's lost heirloom, and a mysterious stranger (Josh Hartnett) looking for a game of cards. Aided by a local bartender (Woody Harrelson) the two men proceed to raise hell in the town as they strive to take down the Woodcutter.
A bizarre mix of gangster western and samurai kung fu has come together to create this incredible spectacle. Starting out with a (thinly veiled) comment on mankind's destructive habits, the story soon evolves into an all out martial arts medley, ranging from sword slinging samurai to cowboys with no guns. The setting for the whole experience is a strange blend of pop-up drawings, comic book artistry and a theatre stage and thus creates a unique world for a story such as this. The all star cast give an outstanding performance and all the editing department deserves an award for the subtle combination of cinema and gameboy. Bunraku is bound to entertain almost anybody - although Stan Lee may get pissed for the pop-up book version of Spider-Man.
