Originally an anime film, with a print sequel and serialised animated spin-off, Blood: The Last Vampire was adapted into a live action film in 2009. This version makes significant changes to some details of the plot, but the basic premise is the same: a supernaturally powerful woman seeks out and destroys a hidden inhuman menace whose powers come from the same source as her own.
The action here takes place on a US air base in Japan in 1970. It's quite nice to see an action film with such a specific 'recent historical' timeframe, rather than the more common 'more or less now' that is usually chosen. It's also an easy way to sidestep potential narrative complications like mobile phones, the internet, and so on. Smart call.
The movie does make some less smart calls, though. The action sequences are mostly not as exciting as they're obviously intended to be, and I may have outright giggled at one of them. Your serious business action movie should probably not remind me of Zipang!. I mean, I love that movie, but it's very very very very silly. And yes, I do need all those 'very's. The concluding battle is also seriously over-matched by the fight that comes shortly before it, in terms of dynamism and staging, so the film does just seem to limp home a little, especially after the extended talk-y sequence that comes after the not-so-climactic showdown.
Check this out only if you just can't get enough of supernaturally-themed martial arts movies.
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