Wherever I looked online the reviews for Six String Samurai seem to diverge into the two conventional opinions that a film can possess: One that hates it and one that loves it. My opinion is grounded right in the middle however because sometimes the film succeeded and other times failed.

Okay well the only star I knew was Jeffrey Falcon (and that was due to The Inspector Wears Skirts opposite Cynthia Rothrock) and his character Buddy (an obvious parallel/homage to Buddy Holly and maybe even Toshiro Mifune) was enjoyable. Falcon may not have nailed the acting all the time but thanks to his background in martial arts he's a joy to watch in action. The orphan, played by Justin McGuire, overall became a mixed blessing as he was almost a counterpart to Buddy, but near the end he annoyed me to a great extent. The only other actor that had a recurring character of importance was Death (Stephane Gauger) who, thankfully, had a tongue-in-cheek quality.

What worked with Six String Samurai happened to be the elements/style that were incorporated represented the time: In the 1950's there was the sudden outburst of Rock N Roll, the Cold War, Samurai flicks, the TV family like the Cleavers (here humorously parodied as a family of cannibals). In fact the film might have worked better (besides some tighter reworking) if it were shot in black and white giving it an authentic feel of the 1950's television and film. Needless to say (though required to be written) the film is played for laughs and camp as a slice of enjoyable entertainment: What with lines spoken by Death like "You have failed me for the last ti--nice shoes" or Buddy's subtle cool delivery of "Flutter away, little butterfly. Just flutter away". The film packed some unexpected though welcomed homage's to Wizard of Oz and Lone Wolf and Cub (Buddy follows the yellow brick road to Lost Vegas and also when Buddy defeats an entire Russian army). The film retains its sharp appeal because of this along with the nicely choreographed fight scenes and rockabilly soundtrack (complementary of The Red Elvises).

What stopped the film dead in its tracks happened to be the orphan and the somewhat disappointing ending. The orphan slows the film down and sucks out the energy from the actors, slows down the action, and the original plot; leaving what could have been an energetic low budget cult fave become a dull movie with a uninspiring relationship between Buddy and the Orphan. The ending was a bit of a letdown because Buddy doesn't even set step in Lost Vegas by the last frame; so pretty much what was used as the sole purpose to further the plot is not even dealt with.

Six String Samurai has its problems but in the end it has a tune that you can cut it to.