Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

As some of you may recall, back around the beginning of this Recommendation thing of mine, I named Leon as the perfect movie representation of the Hitman video games. I would like to correct myself. While that movie still reigns as the best hitman (as a profession) related movie, this is a far better representation of Agent 47 and his solitary ways.

The movie follows one Ghost Dog (played spectacularly by Forest Whitaker), a hitman working for a small time mob somewhere in Jersey. He's a rather odd fellow, as he is a strict follower of "Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai". He practices with an assortment of martial arts weapons and meditates daily, he lives alone in a small shack on the top of a building, and he communicates by carrier pigeon. He's quiet, respectful, dignified, and completely deadly. Armed with an array of silenced pistols and a small device that remotely hacks electronics (and luxury cars), he's a forced to be reckoned with.

One faithful night, one of his assignment goes wrong. The man he kills turns out to be a Made Man in aforementioned Mob. The hit was a slight beef going on between some members, and blame was shifted to Ghost Dog. Now they're at war, with the two fundamentally different (yet both honorable, in a certain way) codes of the Samurai and Mafia up against one another. Who will triumph?

Like I said, this is an excellent representation of Agent 47. Ghost Dog works alone, his only companions being a French ice cream salesman (he doesn't speak English, and Ghost Dog doesn't speak French. Their understanding is mostly mental, and works in a very subtle and sweet way) and a small girl he befriends at the park (they both share an affinity for reading). Ghost Dog is a crack shot in any situation, and isn't above using a disguise to get where he needs to go. He also can be rather ingenious with his hits; one such example at the end is just incredible and awesome all at once (I know it's a homage to a similar scene in an earlier Hong Kong film. It's still looks wicked cool).

The movie is a quiet character study of this character. As it goes on it is occasionally interrupted by Ghost Dog, as he reads out words of wisdom (Whitaker's voice feeling just right in said situations), and his words tend to apply to the situation at hand. It's also a bit of a comedy, what with the Mob being one of the most inept ever put to screen. It's basically just a bunch of old guys who don't have any real power any more (and tend to mix their targets up a lot). They also really like classic cartoons.

Technically speaking, the movie is great. The whole thing has a quiet, reserved feel to it, fitting the tone perfectly. The soundtrack, mostly rap songs (or hits from Ghost Dog's mix tapes) is rather inspiring (it's the kind of rap that I like, the kind that has actual soul to it). And the script is excellent, as are all the other characters in the movie.

It's a great little film, and one that really needs to get more attention.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHADsO2RUB4