Anyway, I love Sonny Chiba's films and decided to suspend disbelief and check out the film. As it turns out, I'm not disappointed. At its most basic, the plot invovles a detachment of Japanese Self-Defense Forces soldiers who somehow get trapped in a strange phenomenon that sends them back to the Age of Warring States, along with their weapons and equipment, namely a tank, a helicopter, and a patrol boat.

They are soon discovered by Kagetora (aka Uesugi Kenshin, historically a famous warlord) who eagerly embraces them as allies. The SDF soldiers, led by Lt. Iba (Sonny Chiba), later do join forces to fight with Kagetora, as Lt. Iba rationalizes that by "changing" history perhaps they might cause another distortion in the universe to force a higher power to return them to their own time.

Nonetheless, the film is less about science fiction, and more about how people might change if thrust into extraordinary circumstances. A few such as Cpl Yano decide to take advantage of superior firepower to loot, rape, and kill, forcing Iba hunt him and other renegades down.

Meanwhile various spies track Iba, his men, and their exotic hardware. As Iba develops a strong friendship with Kagetora, learning the old ways of horse archery, kenjutsu, and yari spear combat, it becomes apparent that he loves his new surroundings. In modern Japan, he is but a junior officer in peaceful times, but in the 16th century, he can become virtually a king, and he might not want to go back even if given the chance.

The highlight of the movies is definitely for me the re-interpreted battle of Kawanakajima. Historically, Kagetora faced off against another great general, Takeda Shingen in one of the most spectacular battles in feudal Japan. In the movie, it's Iba and his tiny squad against Shingen's thousands of samurai.

What's truly fascinating is how the Takeda army tries to adopt innovative tactics, weapons, battlefield intelligence, and advanced planning in an attempt to overcome Iba's technology.

It's a breathtaking battle worthy of any samurai epic. Flags flutter in the air, the various divisions are in full armor and colorful uniforms, masses of cavalry and ninja go in action, and there are ambushes galore. Ultimately, Iba barely manages to triumph against seemingly overwhelming odds, but not without losing his war machines, and even the most powerful tank must eventually run out of fuel and ammunition.

What follows is rather anti-climactic and sad, even if somewhat predictable, for in a ruthless winner-takes-all era, how long can Kagetora and Iba stay allies?