The movie is long and dull with no character development and a boring story. Yawn. I wont be watching the rest of the series.I give Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengence a 3/10

After being framed for treason and losing his wife to an after-hours assault, a former state executioner seeks revenge as a ronin, walking the dusty trails of rural Japan with his three-year-old son in tow. The hallmarks of a generic '70s samurai/kung fu movie are all over this one, from the exploitative camera-work to the bad makeup and sprays of hyper-saturated blood, but despite the obvious tropes it delivers some deep, ruminative storytelling and efficiently lays the groundwork for the five sequels which are soon to follow. Often, we're shocked by an act that seems vile and emotionless, only for a subsequent explanation to flip the script and offer unexpected rationalization. The audience constantly sees Ittō (the protagonist) in different lights, filling the character out from all angles while the man himself (stoically played by a convincing Tomisaburo Wakayama) maintains a stiff, honorable composure. Despite the eccentricities mentioned above, I was impressed by the fight scenes, which are shockingly - yet appropriately - swift and decisive. With his blade drawn bare, Ittō doesn't fool around: he kills with immediacy and precision, though he's often fighting such steep odds that the battles aren't over too quickly. A real jewel for fans of the genre, which storms through a few clunky patches and sets itself up to soar in later installments.

I watched this movie on Netflix last night and I got to say, what an amazing film. the story is set in traditional japan where the main character who is the official executioner for his government is betrayed this results in him fighting dozens of soldiers then having a dual with one the lords allowing him to roam the countryside of japan with his infant son. along the road he is hired to kill a group of bandits. he travels to the village which has been taken over by bandits who are going around killing and raping innocent civilians. here the main character is taken prisoner along with his son and he meets a prostitute who he saves from being killed by the bandits. I don't want to give the ending away but one thing to say this movie is epic.

What a great, great movie. I've been getting back into samurai flicks after a long hiatus. I wanted to see this after having seen Kill Bill v.1 -- you can see the influence after watching Lone Wolf and Cub -- and boy, this movie and its vol. 2 sequel (baby cart on river styx) -- great! Clean picture, clean sounds. This is an awesome movie. I also read the manga before the movie and can say: it is very faithful to the manga, doing a wonderful job of bringing the Kojima's artwork to the screen. Readers of Dark Horse's manga series, vol. 1 will recognize the care taken to adapt the manga.I showed this film to a bunch of friends and they hooted and hollered. Great fun.