moneenerd After seeing at least 20 movies in his filmography, this is by far and wide the worst Miike film I've yet to see.Great premise, but the execution is all wrong.A samurai is crucified on a cross in feudal Japan, and spends the remainder of his afterlife travelling through space and time at random, hacking and slicing away pretty much everyone in sight. While there are certainly those characters who might represent the ills of modern Japanese society (particularly religion and big business), some of the violence is just downright incomprehensible, including the slaying of innocent children and the rape of mother earth (seriously). I had no idea what Izo was supposed to represent, nor half of the villains he encounters, and, as a reasonably intelligent art-house film fanatic, it absolutely infuriates me that I had to come online to figure all this meaningless and half-assed symbolism out.I get it Miike; you hate religion, technology, government, law, major corporations (like the ones you make movies for... ahem), and women. You love to get your audience talking, and you certainly love making critics think you are a thematic genius even when everything you do is lazy (given, he does make about 5-6 films a year) and pushing them to find hidden meanings behind things where there are none (example: all the ranting and raving about AUDITION being a feminist film). But by the looks of IMDb and RT ratings of IZO, I think this 2 hour mind-f*ck was the straw that broke the camel's back.Bad CGI, bad fight choreography, bad dialogue, bad acting. Sure, it's an "art" film, and so those things should be secondary to theme, plot, and message, but when 90% of the film is made up of sword fighting, you could at least try a little harder to wow us.This should be paired up with Takeshi Kitano's movie TAKESHI'S (ironice, since Kitano is in this movie), for they are both the most over-indulgent films by otherwise incredible talents in Japan cinema. File this under I AM A F*CKING GENIUS AND THE AUDIENCE WILL EAT UP ANYTHING I RELEASE EVEN IF IT'S JUNK.On a side note: I am still stoked for your 13 ASSASSINS remake!

sc8031 This movie is kinda annoying to sit through. There isn't really a plot, so much as a theme. The title character Izo abstractly walks through time and space and movie sets propelled by his hatred at the unfair and seemingly purposeless hierarchy of the universe. There are funny and interesting moments (and social commentaries) but it's too long and meandering!I am kinda disappointed here. Izo presents a lot of cool ideas and premises. I'm pretty sure it's based on a Japanese work of fiction and that there is some older Japanese movie about the story of Izo before his crucifixion. But in making this incarnation of the story so abstract, Miike leaves the viewer kinda bored and frustrated. I understand that this is some "Pierrot Le Fou" type of flick, where the viewer is almost "interacting" with the movie, but I've never been a fan of that stuff. I kept feeling like Miike was laughing at me for watching his film.And indeed, many of the actors are cast as novelties to be ridiculed, including the lead role and MMA fighter Bob Sapp (funny that Kitano Takeshi appears in this, considering his movies all rule the roost!). This is blatantly discussed on the extras DVD, where Miike says a bunch of not-so-profound things about art and music. I think Miike really does get a kick out of manipulating people, is the thing. It's kinda creepy.The music sucks, since it's mostly this exploited (autistic?) folk singer Miike fawns over. And yet Miike has a real skill for scene composition. The cinematography here is fantastic! And so are the actors who are NOT being exploited. It's a weird interplay, not unlike some of Woody Allen's interesting moments. You know, a really great cast, contrasted against a handful of really pitiful, blatantly exploited bad actors who aren't in on the joke.By the way, don't watch this expecting a samurai film. The choreography and fighting is purposefully ugly and oafish. This movie is quite blatantly an anti-samurai film, which brings to light Miike's perspective on the subject. The anti-dogmatic stance of this film indicates a non-conservative stance of modern Japanese society. Beautiful cinematography and interesting ideas don't make up for the purposefully manipulative and abstract portions of the film. I guess I can respect that Miike was trying to do something artistic here, but it's simply not that enjoyable or cathartic to sit through.

ramsri81 Well everybody knows what we are expecting when we see a Miike film. He is one of the very few surrealist horror director in the world. This movie is everything El Topo,Terminator, Judge Dread, Rambo,Gothic & Roman Epics put into one. The story is supposed to be of a warrior who has returned to earth for revenge. The torture scenes will make you flinch, the various episodes will make you scratch your head and with all those crazy things you will still appreciate Miike's effort. The characters, the crazy ways they kill him, Izo's flawless performance, the music, the editing, the camera angle's everything is special. Its more like Miike has donned the cap of a psychotic philosopher who goes to preach the world with blood. Its really difficult to get a DVD version, but I think if you are a Miike fan you should definitely give this movie a shot. Having seen more weird things in his movies than in my whole life I can safely say you will not be disappointed. I rate this one 7/10

xiria73 After owning this film for nearly a year, I finally found the opportunity to watch it without my girlfriend being in the same room with me (She couldn't get past Kazuki Tomokawa's first ballad). Did it help with my viewing enjoyment? That would be a definite yes. Did it help me gain a better understanding of the story?That's a very good question...I view Izo as Miike's personal views of what Society has become. Facets of every class, organization and subculture within has grown apathetic, and there seems to be no hope. Izo is the manifestation of a great anger, given birth by a world that he realizes is no longer in need of his services. Upon his death Izo is forever damned to travel the Earth, constantly dragged through space and time and forced to face either those who are out to destroy him or those who, like him, are seeking answers to questions which can rarely be answered. In the rare instance an answer is available, sometimes it's not the one we want to hear. Even if the answer in inevitable, it does not matter. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to anything that happens in the world, and Izo is filled with such rage over being betrayed and cast away, that the line between logic and irrationality becomes blurred. In the end everyone's a victim, yet they're all guilty in some shape or form. Izo is forced to face that realization for all eternity, which may make some viewers debate over who the true protagonist of the movie is-Izo or the World (The answer should be obvious, but...).Most people I've spoken to say they could not "get into" this film. Every one I've spoken to have compared it to Koroshiya 1 or Odishon, which is a mistake. This is not a film about the Yakuza, and it certainly is not a movie that makes Fatal Attraction look like Sixteen Candles. This is a political film; a piece of bloody eye candy with a congealed shell, but political nonetheless. Still, it's definitely worth watching. Make no mistake, this is still "A Takashi Miike Film". All the trademarks that accompany the bulk of his work are present. If you've seen enough of his films (Or at least one), you won't be disappointed. Just don't read too much into it. Try to enjoy it for the great piece of work it is. 10/10