Photo: ©Yasuhisa Hara/SHUEISHA ©2024 “KINGDOM” Film Partners
Kingdom: Return of the Great General
For the legions of devotees of the Kingdom saga for the past five years—as well as those who will be new to it—the historical juggernaut about China's warring states era has officially reached towering new heights with its thunderous fourth chapter and is having its big-screen showing at NYAFF! Shinsuke Sato's latest manga-to-film battlefield epic, whose previous chapters have reaped multiple awards, is a maelstrom of clashing swords, deafening cavalry charges, and Machiavellian court intrigue. Megastar Kento Yamazaki is magnetic as the ascendant warrior Shin, finally leading his elite Hishin unit into their baptism of fire against the dreaded Cho forces. But the upstart, now allied with legendary general Ohki (Takao Osawa) faces overwhelming odds. Yet the grandly-scaled action sequences are matched by an undercurrent of deeply-felt humanity. Sato expertly intercuts the orgiastic spectacle of massive armies and rolling heads with quiet interludes charting Shin's bond with childhood friend Eisei (Ryo Yoshizawa). The rousing battles hit like a warhammer, but it's the stirring emotion that truly conquers. For manga fans and action aficionados alike, Kingdom: Return of the Great General is a gargantuan, soul-rousing wonder—a work of operatic grandeur where swords aren't merely crossed but forged into immortal art.
