Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 35 minutes, Director – Haruo Sotozaki
The hunt for demon Muzan (Toshihiko Seki) leads the Demon Slayer Corps to fall into a neverending castle where they must fight multiple upper rank demons whilst trying to escape.
If 2021’s Mugen Train, the first feature adaptation of hit anime and manga series Demon Slayer, was the express train, holding consistent action with a rarely dropped pace, then Infinity Castle is the delayed multi-stop one. While I still haven’t seen any of the TV series this continues from, as apparently the first of a trilogy of Infinity Castle films, it’s easy enough to get to grips with where things are from the opening few minutes. Young Tanjiro (Natsuki Hanae) and fellow Demon Slayer Corps members are thrown into what seems to be another universe, a neverending, ever-shifting landscape of floors, walls, platforms and buildings. Whilst trying to hunt demon Muzan (Toshihiko Seki) in the confusing environment they must also face strong, upper rank demons, none of whom appear to be able to defeated in the usual ways.
In total there are only a few action upfront fights that make up the lengthy 2-and-a-half-hour run-time of the film. And rather than action being broken up with dialogue the style of Infinity Castle is more flashbacks, internal monologues, verbal exchanges, more internal monologues, opponent analysis and further internal monologues broken up with the occasional sword strike before diving into more of the former. The action itself is exciting and certainly has an impact both in terms of the visual style and intensity of the sequences. But, such moments feel constantly stalled by the eventual dives into lengthy flashbacks and dialogue.
It’s likely for fans of the show, and those more familiar with the narrative so far, that the film will work best, for those, like myself, who are coming to this relatively fresh then there’s perhaps a lot that might seem like overlong and unnecessary. Especially when it comes to the fact that one encounter which is drawn out for at least 45 minutes, if not more, feels as if things are about to kick off again multiple times before another flashback of internal monologue is cut to. It makes for a very drawn out and unevenly paced set of events which starts to hinder the impact of the action.
There are still points of interest and things to keep engagement, the first demon to be properly battled is an enjoyably playful and taunting force (voiced by Mamorou Miyano) and there’s effect in some of the flashbacks. However, the more the run-time goes on the more drawn out it starts to feel and as if the events of the film could have been condensed into something more concise, or at least more evenly paced. The stops in the brief flashes of action, and displays of powers and forces at play, are the biggest issue for this seeming first Infinity Castle instalment.
The idea of the endless nature to the world in which the characters appear to have entered are shown in brief shots as the ‘camera’ travels through it, effectively establishing the difficult task of just getting through it, let alone adding demons to the mix. For more casual viewers it may seem as if not a great deal has happened by the end of the long run-time, although for fans there’s likely a more emotionally engaging and affecting time to be found. Either way, there’s a lot to get through to get to the end, much of which slows down the thrills of the core action.
Infinity Castle’s overlong run-time appears to be formed by constant flashbacks and internal monologues disturbing the flow and excitement of the action sequences. There are still elements to like in the world and its fantastical elements, but they often feel briefly glimpsed amongst the growing sidetracks.
Just A Little Bit Random 