Samurai 2: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)

Not so much contemplative as glacial, this high-minded samurai spectacle has some good things going for it (expert compositions, thoughtful character evolution, Toshiro Mifune) that unfortunately get submerged by the ridiculous, overextended plot, which involves Mifune's character challenging the head of a fighting school and, against the wishes of said school head, being set upon by the man's minions roughly sixty-seven times (give or take a few). To be honest, this and Samurai 1 could have been compressed into one film; I'll still watch Part 3, but I'm not really too enthused about it.

Grade: C+