One day, a lone gunslinger, who is also in search of the treasure, rides in the gang-infested town. His solid skills and quick reflexes are immediately challenged by both gangs. Impressed by his skills, the two gangs have a bidding war to recruit the stranger, with each leader promising him a larger share (or better deal) if the treasure is found...

Ennio Morricone took a big ass bite out of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo and made one of the most influential Italian western films ever. Now, Takashi Miike - one of Japan's most loved cult directors - takes that bite back, chews it up, gargles it down, then spits it out on an odd shaped canvas. The result: a fun-filled flick full of violence, humor and wackiness (not to mention weirdness!).

Sukiyaki Western Django is filled with nods to some of the most popular Italian Western flicks we've come to know and love. It even goes as far as having direct references to characters like Django and Yojimbo, as if they existed in the same parallel universe.

Essentially, Sukiyaki Western Django is to Italian Westerns what Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1 was to Exploitation/Asian films. Both share the same execution... you know, a filmmaker's love for film, making a film for the fun of it, never taking it too serious, yet still packing that creative punch that will eventually make it a cult classic in its own right. And speaking of Quentin Tarantino, he does have a cameo in this film (and he does way better behind the camera).

With all the wisecracks, painted sets, neat perspective shots and quick animated sequences ("The Bloody Benton"), you still get some of Miike's trademark vulgar violence... don't ever expect this guy to pull a punch. I won't ruin any particular scene for you, but there's a moment where one of the "red" gang members says "My color looks good on you" after a traumatic killing. Classic.

The action scenes themselves are entertaining! And I say that again... they're entertaining! Let's just say that the scenes are well choreographed and there's hardly a dull second. Not all the action is gunslinging. There still enough slicing, dicing, explosions and beatings to go around for those who prefer something than just "John Woo" shit.

Sukiyaki Western Django is filmed entirely in English, but keep that subtitle button handy (unless you own the Malaysian DVD), because you can barely understand the cast members. The first time I watched it, I only understood 40% of what they were saying; the second time I watched it, the bad English grew on me, and I understood nearly everything. Go figure. And yes, subtitles weren't an option because I do have the Malaysian version. But in the end, with or without English subs, the movie is still an easy watch.

Sukiyaki Western Django is a great film. If you're a fan of both Asian and Italian Westerns, it's a must. As for the people who thought this film was crap (and I was surprised at how many people didn't like it), they were just taking it way too serious. It's not a remake, it's not a wannabe, it's not a rip-off, it's just a great director having fun while making a cool fucking movie.

Miike begins by tearing a page out of another brilliant Asian western - Wisit Sasanatieng’s Tears of the Black Tiger - giving us a prologue placed on a hyper-stylized sound stage. The painted backdrops are obvious, and intentionally so, designed to play up the extremities of what is to follow. It’s as though Miike’s letting us know that he’s in on the joke. Yes, it’s all very fake and very silly, he’s saying, but by god we’re going to have a good time with it. In the middle of this painted setting, with the cardboard cut out sun and a completely two dimensional mountain in the background, is a cowboy in full western garb cooking a pot of sukiyaki over an open fire. The cowboy is none other than Quentin Tarantino, an outspoken fan of Miike’s work here returning the favor Miike paid him by appearing in Eli Roth’s Hostel, and his part is far from the self indulgent wank many feared when he appeared on set. Instead it falls to Tarantino to establish the basic story, a spin on England’s War of the Roses, and the tone of the piece through a ridiculous piece of ultra-bloody violence and also by gradually altering his accent away from his natural tones and into the stilted rhythms that come from delivering lines you don’t actually understand but have had to learn by sounding them out. Yes, just in cased you missed the point from the sets and the initial blood spray spattering all over the painted back drop Miike is letting you know once again: he knows the English language thing is supremely silly, he’s in on the joke, now stop whining about it and have some fun.

And fun you will have.

Here’s the story. Two clans - the Red and the White - have been at war for centuries. Their numbers are seriously depleted, the clans reduced to little more than wandering gangs, but the battle rages on. Drawn by rumors of an enormous hidden treasure both gangs have set up shop in a remote western town to search while sniping at each other from a distance, a potentially explosive situation that the vast majority of townsfolk have wisely fled. Into the midst of this powder keg rides a nameless stranger, a taciturn quickdraw artist who prefers to shoot first and ask questions later. So skilled that his addition to one side or the other would permanently tip the scales and end the long running clan feud, our wanderer offers his services to whichever clan is prepared to offer up the largest share of the treasure, once found.

Beyond this there isn’t much point in talking about story. It’s not that there isn’t more there, it’s that there are so many extreme characters and set pieces that going any farther would quickly devolve into a list of favorite moments. There’s the unexpected Shakespeare fixation, the woman caught between clans, a crossbow, dynamite, a Gatlin gun, and rampant, stylish bloodshed. As is the case with virtually everything Miike has ever done there are lulls from time to time, moments where the story threatens to bog down, but he more than redeems those moments with his manic energy, inventive action set pieces, sudden bursts of gore and some hysterically funny sight gags. Miike has a very gifted cast here - one of the leads is currently shooting an English language feature with the director of City of God - all of whom clearly get the joke and relish the chance to be involved.

Sukiyaki Western Django captures Miike in his glossy, crowd pleasing, supposedly mainstream mode - this is far more the Miike of Zebraman and The Great Yokai War than the Miike of Ichi the Killer - and it is one of the very best examples of the type, a near perfect fusion of the raw energy that made so many cultists fans in the first place and the technical polish that has become increasingly evident in his more recent work. It is stylish, surprising, occasionally shocking but mostly just very, very fun.