Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons by Kenji Misumi (1973)
The fifth Lone Wolf and Cub movie begins in a really promising manner that suggests it might just be the franchise’s best title. Ogami Itto is contacted and tested by five retainers of the Kuroda clan, and as he defeats each one, they reveal the next piece of his mission. This is actually a really cool narrative device and makes for some delightfully insane moments, like the retainer who delivers his message to Ogami even as his body is consumed by flames. And when Ogami tries to complete his assassination, it leads to a bizarre supernatural moment that’s unlike anything else the franchise has offered to date. But then Baby Cart in the Land of Demons gets bogged down in a side story about Daigoro and an infamous pickpocket that I suppose is intended to prove just how brave and honorable Ogami’s young son has become. In truth, however, it’s a pointless rabbit trail that contributes nothing to the movie. By the time we get back to the original storyline about Ogami’s mission, the movie’s lost its momentum. Of course, the Yagyu clan are back, and there’s yet another grand finale involving Ogami slicing and dicing his way through countless samurai and ninja. It’s all pretty underwhelming, though, and I can’t stop thinking about the first act, and how it promised a far more interesting movie than the one we actually got.
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