Wolff rating: NOT BAD
Plot summary: Loner city resident adheres to the ancient code of the samurai, and has found a retainer in the mob.
Biased, pithy comments: This is one of those movies that's a fresh take on an old story, and should be lauded for its freshness, but then fails at some level. I'm not totally sure I connected with Ghost Dog; he is as aloof from the audience as he is from the rest of the world, and all the hip-hop music and Japanese-style filming conventions will not make him seem warmer or more human. I was also troubled on a more practical level by his unprofessionalism; although he's a great shot, he makes a bunch of mistakes that even I know are going to get him arrested---leaving the gun after hits (he wears latex gloves to steal cars, but then doesn't use them when he commits murders?) near the body, leaving lots of DNA around, and even stealing plates from an old, run-down car to put on his shiny Mercedes (meaning that cops running his plates will be sure they're stolen, as opposed to if he had stolen them from another Merc). So, a troubled movie, but eminently interesting. Perhaps the most fun are the parts that aren't from hitman action films, but where the characters bust loose from the story---Raymond and Ghost Dog's non-conversations, Henry Silva's portrayal of a crazy mob boss, Cliff Gorman rapping.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Forest Whitaker, John Tormey, Cliff Gorman, Henry Silva, Issach De Bankole.
Directed by: Jim Jarmush