I remember seeing this as a child. Really disliked it then, but it always stayed in my mind. Later, I caught it on Netflix, and was surprised at how much I liked it. It was not a perfect film, but still stands as one of the most "realistic" American martial arts films I can recall seeing (in terms of choreography). Recently I got it on blu-ray, and watched the extended cut. Honestly, aside from the final shots, which I felt were a bit too ambiguous, it went from being a "good" movie to a "very good" movie in my book. The pacing felt more consistent to me, and it was a lot easier for me to pick up more of the "samurai epic" vibe from the older Kurosawa films they were paying homage to. That and greatly expanded scenes featuring both Kinjo and Takeda, giving a far better understanding of both men and what was really driving them forward. I do intend to write a proper review for this film in the future.