6 Movies Like Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021)

At times looking and sounding like a real Filipino action film from 50 years ago, while painstakingly edited to juggle storylines across several realities, Leonor Will Never Die is worth seeing for its originality and ambition alone. Among so many other films that function as sanitized "love letters to cinema," this one bears the distinction of still feeling charmingly scrappy and improvised even with how meticulously it's crafted. It doesn't simply pine for a bygone era of movies, but it actively explores what purpose movies serve to us as individuals and as communities. Where it arrives with regard to healing and acceptance and bringing people together feels entirely earned, even if it might not always be easy to understand.

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Actor: Alemberg Ang, Allan Bautista, Anthony Falcon, Ara Chawdhury, Bong Cabrera, Dido dela Paz, DMs Boongaling, Edgar Ebro, Elias Mabia, Helen Anang, Kip Oebanda, Kristine Kintana, Madeleine Nicolas, Martika Ramirez Escobar, Miguel Almendras, Popo Diaz, Raion Sandoval, Rea Molina, Rocky Salumbides, Ryan Eigenmann, Sheila Francisco, Sheron R. Dayoc, tin velasco, Victor Villanueva

Director: Martika Ramirez Escobar

You don't need to be familiar with the rest of the Rurouni Kenshin live-action movie series—or the original manga and anime, for that matter—to appreciate The Beginning as a powerful period drama in its own right. This is a story that courses its historical context about a tumultuous time in Japan's past through a stoic, fearsome protagonist who can't seem to escape the violence that's become his only function. And even more impressively, as a prequel, the film keeps a heavy sense of dread about it, even if you're sure about which characters are meant to survive in order to appear in the previous films. It's the mark of any great tragedy that even the things that are destined can still feel so painful.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance

Actor: Eiki Narita, Eita Okuno, Emi Takei, Hoshi Ishida, Issey Takahashi, Kasumi Arimura, Kazuki Kitamura, Kinari Hirano, Makiko Watanabe, Mansaku Ikeuchi, Masanobu Ando, Masataka Kubota, Mayu Hotta, Nijiro Murakami, Shima Onishi, Soko Wada, Takahiro Fujimoto, Takeru Satoh, Towa Araki, Wataru Ichinose, Yosuke Eguchi

Director: Keishi Otomo

Rating: R

Written like a stage play, directed like the viewer is a fly on the wall, and shot with a love for deep shadows and warm candlelight, Flowers of Shanghai is about as immersive a chamber drama as one could ask for. Having most of the "action" take place off screen, director Hou Hsiao-hsien draws our eye instead to how his characters (including one played by an exceptionally stoic Tony Leung) continue to negotiate for their own freedom against patriarchal norms, pushing against cultural notions of proper decorum. It's a film brimming with repressed emotion, but without ever raising its voice. The vibes, as the kids say, are immaculate.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Annie Shizuka Inoh, Carina Lau, Jack Kao, Michelle Reis, Michiko Hada, Moon Wang, Pauline Chan, Rebecca Pan, Stephanie Fong Shuan, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Vicky Wei

Director: Hou Hsiao-hsien

Released a month directly after Kyoto Inferno, Rurouni Kenshin Part III: The Legend Ends continues Kenshin’s journey, the same journey that revived the samurai chambara genre in recent years. As Japan made its shift towards a modern society in the Meiji era, Kenshin fights in promise to his master’s teachings, to wield his sword for life, rather than for the violence that once was the basis of power. The Legend Ends continues Rurouni Kenshin’s cinematic style with all the outstanding fight choreography, excellent production design, and exceptional cinematography, making it a must watch for fans of the genre as well as action fans in general, but those new to the franchise or those who have only watched the films might still find themselves lost with regards to the way this arc was structured.

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

Actor: Akifumi Uchida, Ayumi Beppu, Emi Takei, Hidekazu Mashima, Hiroko Yashiki, Kaito Oyagi, Kazufumi Miyazawa, Kenichi Takitoh, Kentarō Shimazu, Kota Yamaguchi, Mantaro Koichi, Maryjun Takahashi, Masaharu Fukuyama, Masataka Kubota, Min Tanaka, Mitsu Murata, Munetaka Aoki, Nayuta Fukuzaki, Ryosuke Miura, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Takeru Sato, Takeru Satoh, Tao Tsuchiya, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Tomomi Maruyama, Tôru Kizu, Yosuke Eguchi, Yu Aoi, Yukiyoshi Ozawa, Yuria Eda, Yûsuke Iseya

Director: Keishi Ohtomo, Keishi Otomo

Rating: R, TV-MA

It’s best not to overthink the details of No Hard Feelings, an uproarious comedy that benefits from the lead actors’ physicality. It’s meant to be enjoyed as it happens, at the moment, with Lawrence lighting up every scene with full-bodied commitment and Feldman, a worthy co-lead, delighting at every turn. They’re playing stock characters, and the script doesn’t give much beyond the usual backstories, but Lawrence and Feldman play them with so much heart and gusto, knocking every scene they’re in out of the park. Everything else plays second fiddle to their two-hander show. The cameos are star-studded but forgettable (except for Kyle Mooney, who I wished was onscreen more as Percy’s male nanny), the character development is heartwarming but predictable, and though it bills itself as a sex comedy, the film never really touches past third base. But all that is water under the bridge when you’re watching Maddie and Percy flirt and fumble their way through the film.  

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Alaina Surgener, Alysia Joy Powell, Amalia Yoo, Andrew Barth Feldman, Ari Frenkel, Ben Heineman, Brian Calì, Christina Catechis, Christopher Bailey, Darren Valinotti, Earl Rose, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ethan Metz, Hasan Minhaj, Jacob Augustin, Jennifer Lawrence, Jordan Mendoza, Kyle Mooney, Laura Benanti, Luca Padovan, Madison McBride, Matt Walton, Matthew Broderick, Matthew Noszka, Melissa Lehman, Natalie Morales, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Scott MacArthur, Sophie Tananbaum, Victor Verhaeghe, Zahn McClarnon

Director: Gene Stupnitsky

Rating: R