Once again, a Japanese film set in Ancient Japan, but without traditional storylines. This time around we get wizards with super powers and demons that are more gaudy than scary. The film itself isn't a complete failure, because it's quite entertaining, and the effeminate lead is rather intriguing.

ONMYOJI, or YIN YANG MASTER, looks a lot like a comic book rather than a movie. It's not to be taken seriously, and the whole thing is rather tame. More energy to the film as a whole would have been appreciated.

6 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie and reviews of other foreign films)

A fantasy martial arts film set in feudal Japan, Onmyoji uses a good cast of characters and a mystical setting to keep the audiences entertained.

When I caught this film on TV (Showtime, I believe), I was immediately drawn in. There are demons, Shinto-like priests, curses, spells, and impressive costume designs to entertain.

The story is basic-- a young well-to-do member of the court finds himself relying on help from an half-demon Onmyoji priest to protect the kingdom-- but the world of Onmyoji is fascinating and fun to watch. It's not everyday you get to watch people battle it out with chants and prayers, evil demons, and people can fly.

Despite a previous bad review, I recommend this film to anyone who has the opportunity to see it. It's a fantasy film, but the world of Onmyoji is compelling and will draw you in.

I rented this movie to see Hiroyuki Sanada. Of course he looked gorgeous in it as usual so for that I'm grateful. However the rest of the movie I'm not too sure about. It's a story about demons and using them to curse other people, stuff like that. But my problem is while watching it I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a kids movie or a movie for adults. The cheesiness of it made me think it was for kids but there is a vampire type character and strange fighting scenes that would probably be inappropriate for children. On top of that I was simultaneously reminding of both Return to Witch Mountain and Mortal Kombat (the movie). So I don't know what to think.

Another big problem that is endemic of Japanese movies are these awful effects. I almost wonder if they make it look bad on purpose so it won't be so realistic and therefore less upsetting. But in this and at least Ichi the Killer, I saw effects that stopped me dead in my tracks to think "Geez, that is so cheap looking". I think it was Zatoichi that I stopped about 10 minutes in because of the silly effects. I can't take something seriously if the effects look like they were done with Silly Putty, Kool-Aid, and Microsoft Paint. When I think of Japan, I almost immediately think of technology so this makes no sense. If they're doing it on purpose, Stop It!

The story was okay I guess and the acting was passable. But I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. If you're the type who like sword fighting movies this isn't what you're looking for because there is only one scene like that and only one guy has a sword. It's really about magic, uninteresting magic at that.