Yashua Kimbrough (jimniexperience) The Kuroda Domain in a desperate position contact Ogami for multiple killings, they send five of their best swordsmen to test Ogami skills and deliver the message: Their Domain Lord has retired and passed power onto his wedlock child (secretly a princess) when he fell in love with his mistress. His real child (the prince) is imprisoned in the castle forgotten by the people. The Domain Lord confesses his secrets in a letter given to the High Priest. But the High Priest is in cahoots with Retsudo and plans to sell out the Kuroda Clan to the Shogunate for power.Ogami's hired to kill the High Priest, and the Domain Lord and his wedlock family to save the Kuroda Clan honor.

Leofwine_draca The indefatigable Itto Ogami continues his journey through feudal Japan with his son in tow. BABY CART IN THE LAND OF DEMONS is the fifth in the six-film series and for the first time, the film shows signs of flagging. It's not that I didn't enjoy this movie, because I did; rather, I started to find the plot shenanigans to be ever-so-slightly familiar, if not a little tired. Much of what goes on in the film has been seen before, and although the action sequences are as vivid as ever, there's little here that hasn't been done previously (and better).As per usual, Ogami finds himself caught up in plotting between various factions and must form political allegiances to see him through. The opening of the film sees him tackling a series of martial arts masters, all of whom test him unawares to make sure he's worthy of the job. The plot then takes a lengthy and slightly pointless detour to a market village where Daigoro is accused of helping a pickpocket conduct her business. Although this sequence has been incorporated to allow greater characterisation of Ogami's son, I found it dragged the pacing down to crawling speed.Thankfully, things pick up for a relatively exciting climax which sees Ogami finishing off his job. There's still a great deal of entertainment value from watching the various characters occupying different positions in Japanese society at this time and how they react to our hero. The cast give understated performances and the action is typically well shot, but I'm actually looking forward to the end of this series now: better to end on a high than dragging it into the ground.

masercot I've seen most of the other Lone Wolf and Cub movies. I've been happy with all of them except for this one.The martial arts sequences are excellent. The acting is great; however, this movie drove home an important point about film-making: If the plot is incomprehensible, the movie is lost on the viewer.Why did he listen to those he listened to and kill those he killed? He was supposed to be saving a particular clan, but ended up pretty much wiping it out. In the end, people kill themselves with no explanation and Lone Wolf walks away with his cub...Part of the problem with my understanding might have been that this movie, unless the others that I own, was dubbed. It might have been over simplified...

Witchfinder General 666 The Lone Wolf and his son are back again, and greater than ever! The entire "Kozure Ôkami" aka. "Lone Wolf And Cub" cycle is exceptionally brilliant, and the fifth entry to the series, "Kozure Ôkami: Meifumadô" aka. "Baby Cart In The Land Of Demons" is (alongside the second) my personal favorite of the six films. After another director, Buichi Saito, had directed the (impressive) fourth part, original director Kenji Misumi returns with brilliance. Out of all six films, this one has the most intriguing storyline, and the film is brilliant beyond comparison in so many aspects that I can hardly find the right words to praise it adequately.Ogami Itto (Tomisaburo Wakayama), the former Kaishakunin of the Shogunate, has been traveling through Japan with his only son Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa) ever since he fell victim to a conspiracy by the powerful and sneaky Yagyu-clan. He is now killing for 500 ryu as the assassin 'Lone Wolf with Child', walking on the 'path to hell', for vengeance and to clear his name... The beginning of the fifth Ôkami film is already ingenious: Ogami Itto is challenged by five messengers, each of which has 100 Ryu (one-fifth his reward) and one-fifth of the information he requires in order to know whom to assassinate... I do not want to give away more than necessary, but I can assure that "Baby Cart In The Land Of Demons" is exceptional in all regards. Ogami Itto is my personal favorite (anti-)hero character ever, and his son Daigoro, who keeps growing to be more and more self-reliant throughout the films, is equally great. This fifth part has an ingenious subplot featuring Daigoro as the main protagonist. This subplot is one of the greatest parts of the entire series, and the mere fact that Daigoro has his biggest role here makes the film an absolute favorite. This film has everything that is brilliant about the cycle: The swordplay and carnage are once again exceptionally stylish and brilliantly blood-soaked, the camera-work and locations are impressive, the film is outstanding both in plot and action, and there's a special focus on the father-son relationship between Itto Ogami and Daigoro. Additionally, this fifth part has the most intriguing story of all six films, a beginning that is unmatched in its brilliance, and a subplot that delivers some of the most ingenious moments in the series. I could watch the entire brilliant "Kozure Ôkami" cycle over and over again, and the fifth part is, along with the second, the most ingenious of them all. A personal favorite of mine, brilliant and essential Swordplay cinema that has yet to find an equal! 10/10