Review: The Mononoke trilogy sticks the landing with The Curse of the Serpent
The Medicine Seller is back at the Ōoku for one last battle against a demon in Mononoke The Movie: Chapter III - The Curse of the Serpent . Likes its predecessors from the past couple of years, this is a visually dazzling, slightly erratic bit of fantasy-action-mystery. It very much follows the same formula as the other two movies, which means there isn't much here to win over new fans. If you didn't enjoy the others, this one will not change your mind, though I think it is probably the best of the trilogy narratively. Otherwise, it's a lot of sound and fury, not signifying nothing, but maybe signifying in ways that make it difficult to know what is being signified. (If you want to catch up on my reviews of the first and second movies, click away.) The Curse of the Serpent finds the Medicine Seller returning to the Ōoku (the massive palace where the Emperor lives alongside numerous servants, consorts, and concubines). As is often the case in such places, royal succession ...
