Aliens, ninjas, and samurai’s … oh my! That’s what the wacky “Taitei no ken” (The Sword of Alexander) has to offer, along with an odd mixture of comedy, science fiction and adventure. There’s Hiroshi Abe roaming around Edo era Tokyo with a sword big enough to make Conan the Barbarian’s look like a pocket knife. The movie’s main antagonist is a funky looking alien, that could easily pass for the distant cousin of “The Thing” from Fantastic Four. There’s a mysterious male samurai, played by the very attractive Meisa Kuroki. As you can tell by now, there’s a lot to like in “Taitai no ken,” even though it has a few flaws that keeps it from becoming an instant cult classic.

hiroshiabe-v1.jpgOrichalcum is a mystical metal material that gives great powers to the life form that possesses it. Many Eons ago, the Orichalcum was split into three and landed on Earth. The metal then took the form of three relics: Skanda’s Vajra, Jew’s Cross, and the Sword of Alexander. Anyone able to re-unite these three Orichalcum relics would then obtain the powers of a God. Now two rival aliens are in a heated race to reunite the Orichalcum. They land in Edo era Tokyo where the relics are thought to exist.

A somewhat bumbling Samurai by the name of Genkurou (Hiroshi Abe) now possesses the legendary Sword of Alexander. He’s unaware of the sword’s importance, as it was a gift from his dying grandfather. Genkurou then encounters Princess Mai and her always present bodyguard Sasuke. It just so happens that Princess Mai has been overtaken by one of the rival aliens named Ran. Genkurou, Princess Mai, and Sasuke then team together to find the other two Orichalcum relics before the evil alien Dakusha does so. No less than the survival of the universe is at stake.

What works for “Taitai no ken” is the campy humor, especially present in the early portions of the film. Hiroshi Abe isn’t normally associated with action hero roles, but does a credible job as the powerful Genkurou. At his finest moments, he’s able to bring back the quirky humor that was ever present in his performance in Survival Style +5. There’s also plenty of noteworthy supporting roles, one of the most impressive (at least from a visual perspective) was turned in by Meisa Kuroki. Having already done impressive supporting roles in “Who’s Camus Anyways” and “Heavenly Forest,” Meisa Kuroki this time plays a male samurai that has the looks of a beauty queen.

Where “Taitai no ken” is less successful is in the adventure aspects of the film, which dominates the second half. As the movie draws closer to conclusion, there just isn’t much surprises left in the story’s tank and the movie prods along in predictable manner, leaving little doubt that the Genkurou & friends would be successful in their quest. This was also an area where the movie’s desire to appeal to a broad age range probably hampered it’s ability to provide more compelling thrills.

“Taitai no ken,” based off of the first in the eponymous series written by Baku Yumemakura, has the oddball sci-fi/fantasy traits of “Dororo” but turns out to be a lot more fun. The movie provides ample doses of campy humor, weird characters, and just as fun special effects. “Taitai no ken” is a less impressive in the swashbuckling adventure realm where the second half mostly resides. With that stated, “Taitai no ken” still has a chance to become a mild cult favorite and, at its worst, an enjoyable flick to watch on late night cable TV.