‘Golden Kamuy’: Big-budget adaptation glitters rather than dazzles

Until fairly recently, live-action adaptations of popular manga series were a reliably grim prospect in Japanese cinema. Keishi Otomo’s original “Rurouni Kenshin” trilogy (2012-14) marked a turning point, creating a model for successful on-screen franchises that has since been replicated by the “Kingdom” and “Tokyo Revengers” movies, and Netflix series “Alice in Borderland,” among others.

The latest contender is “Golden Kamuy,” adapted from Satoru Noda’s manga series about miscreants and military adventurers searching for a stash of gold in early-20th century Hokkaido. Directed by Shigeaki Kubo, with many of the “Kingdom” team along for the ride, it’s an efficient romp that doesn’t skimp on spectacle. However, its eagerness to satisfy fans may be a turn-off for new initiates.

For the benefit of readers who fall into the latter camp, the story goes like this: Saichi Sugimoto (Kento Yamazaki) is a battle-scarred veteran of the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War, now trying his luck as a gold panner in Hokkaido. That’s where he hears a tale about a buried hoard belonging to the indigenous Ainu people, the location for which is contained in a map tattooed across the bodies of two dozen escaped convicts.

Saichi has only just started searching for the treasure when he’s saved from a bear attack by an Ainu girl, Asirpa (Anna Yamada), who agrees to assist him in his quest. They’re later joined by renowned escape artist Yoshitake Shiraishi (Yuma Yamoto), as they find themselves pitted against a variety of human and ursine adversaries.

Chief among these is Tokushiro Tsurumi (Hiroshi Tamaki), a loopy lieutenant with a shattered skull, who keeps an enamel plate strapped to his forehead to stop his brains from oozing out. Tamaki seems to be channeling Daniel Day-Lewis’ deranged performance in Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York,” and he’s the best thing the film has going for it. When Lt. Tsurumi’s horse gets shot out from underneath him, mid-gallop, he hits the ground at a sprint. We need more movie villains of this caliber.

I wasn’t so convinced by Yamada, in a role that should really have been given to an actress with Ainu roots. The film’s respectful nods to Ainu culture and language — including gimmicky on-screen definitions every time Asirpa introduces some new vocabulary — are just lip service when it isn’t prepared to go the distance on casting.

Kubo, known for his work on the “High & Low” franchise, proves a more than competent operator during the big set pieces. Although there’s flashier stuff to come, the most memorable action sequence is also the most constrained: a sloppy stand-off between a trio of soldiers and a bear, watched from inside the bear’s den. The movie as a whole looks terrific, with its snow-clad vistas and lavish costumes; even the CGI creatures are up to snuff.

Given that Noda’s manga ran to 31 volumes, they were never going to squeeze the whole thing into a single film, and Tsutomu Kuroiwa’s screenplay doesn’t even try. Instead of a proper finale, “Golden Kamuy” fizzles out in an extended flashback that serves mostly to explain Saichi’s motivation and lay the groundwork for future installments (see also the multiple mid- and post-credits sequences).

Call it the Marvelization of Japanese cinema. For all its extravagance, “Golden Kamuy” only leaves you half full.