This movie is noted Japanese director Takashi Miike's homage to Spaghetti Western films, and it seems to be extremely polarizing among viewers. This is a film that you'll either love or consider garbage. This particular reviewer falls squarely into the former category. To be sure, Sukiyaki Western Django is totally derivative of Fistful of Dollars, which was itself inspired by Yojimbo - but you know what? This is still one hell of a fun and exciting movie.

Most of the criticisms about Sukiyaki Western Django come from some of Miike's stylistic choices. In what is most definitely a nod to the dubbed dialogue or badly-accented English featured in many Spaghetti Westerns, Miike has his Japanese actors speak in English. At times, honestly, one could really wish that Miike would have had done this as a Japanese-language production, because sometimes it's really hard to understand what the actors are saying. But overall, it's really not that big of a deal, and actually adds to this film's charm.

The other sticking point for many people is Miike's playing with the idea of time and space. Does this movie take place in Japan or America? A sign shown near the beginning of the film -- one of the few that is translated via subtitles -- says that Yuda is in Nevada, but certainly none of the proceedings featured here would fit into any logical timeline or history.

Also, for a movie that (supposedly) takes place in the 1800's, almost all of the characters (The Gunman being a notable exception) dress like they're from the futristic manga Akira. This is actually referenced by a character played by Quentin Tarantino because he named his son Akira because he's an "anime otaku". This sort of stuff clearly demonstrates that, for those who like make sure everything jibes in movies, this is not really the film for you.

But if you're willing to relax your gray matter for a bit and just sit back and enjoy the blitzkrieg Miike throws down here, you'll be in for a treat. Even with the broken English, the acting is still very solid, with some very memorable characters created - especially a former assassin known as Bloody Benton, who is one of the coolest characters ever. If you don't get a grin on your face while a lovely woman mows down bad guys while taking slugs of whiskey, then check your pulse.

One could waste a lot of time and bandwidth trying to defend Takashi Miike's methods here, but the plain fact is that Sukiyaki Western Django delivers a bit of everything from action to drama to romance, and does it with a ton of style. If you're on the fence whether to see this, just hop off, pop in the DVD, and enjoy the ride. The chances are high that if you're a fan of the movies given high ratings on this site, you'll dig this one as well.

In a remote gold mining settlement, a line has been drawn between two terrifying gangs: the red-costumed Heike and the white-clad Genji. Into the town rides a stranger in black, known as The Gunman (Hideaki Ito), who has come to offer his services to the highest bidder. Sending the gangs into a fury, The Gunman quickly becomes invested in the plight of a widowed saloon girl (Yoshino Kimura), her traumatized son, and a grandmother (Kaori Momoi) who hides a secret past. With Heike leader Kiyomori (Koichi Sato) in a rage and Genji kingpin Yoshitsune (Yusuke Iseya) nursing a calm curiosity with this new resident, the stage is set for an explosion of violence, as the three sides declare war on each other.

Perhaps some of the inspiration for "Sukiyaki" was supplied by Quentin Tarantino, who's known for this sort of idolatry, and even cameos here as the quickdraw outlaw who kicks off the story. Miike doesn't share Tarantino's rabid fandom for big screen replication, but the details in the film are rendered with large handfuls of affection. Working the Leone vibe to more artificial ends, Miike and his production crew bathe the film in Western motifs, exaggerated widescreen lensing, Morricone-style music cues, and thoroughly utilizes a known sound effects library to a point of giddiness. Much like the titular dish, the film is an anything-goes stew of imagination, taking design cues from multiple eras to fashion an experience that overwhelms with detailed grit and eye-catching polish.

The film's potent visuals are really what "Sukiyaki" is all about. Miike is less interested in the story, which reheats "Yojimbo" twists and turns, with the film adding in more slapstick and Miike's specialty: unswerving, operatic violence. The anachronistic look of the piece is something to behold, keeping the feature involving when the story runs completely out of gas early on and the cast, performing the film in English (you haven't lived until you've heard a Japanese actor use the phrase "Whistling Dixie" in a sentence), can barely hurdle their lines. The English is a strange choice from Miike, but then again, it fits along cheerfully with the piercings, tattered punk clothes, and bullet-stopping heroics the rest of the film prides itself on.

"Sukiyaki" is a highly stylized motion picture and, while difficult to invest in, will offer a more prepared viewer a heightened, bullet-drenched good time. It's worth a look for Momoi's barnstorming performance as the dreaded "Bloody Benten," an opportunity to embrace the sorely missed profusion of spaghetti western melodrama, and to see Miike create a film that is powered solely on nostalgia and ridiculous matinee enchantment.

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.