GRRR, POSTURING! Bunraku trailer sets new record for existential buffoonisms.

Bunraku premiered to tepid reviews at Fantastic Fest last year, and come this September, you’ll be able to see for yourself what all the critics were bored by. It’s a posture-heavy Kill Bill/Sin City clone (note to filmmakers: as soon as the novelty of the visuals wore off, Sin City was actually pretty boring) starring Woody Harrelson and Josh Hartnett. Woody Harrelson opens the trailer with the following awesomely ridiculous expository set up:

“Gangbusters, a cowboy, in a world without guns, and a samurai with no sword team up to defeat a common evil.”

Well sure. That pretty much answers everything. Luckily, this whole thing is made up almost entirely of similar faux-profound one liners. I think it was in discussing Kimbo Slice’s “I discovered that the ENNERMY, was the INNER ME,” speech on Ultimate Fighter that we first coined the phrase “existential buffoon” to describe this kind of meathead philosophizing (see also: Duffy, Troy). This trailer is another beautiful showcase.

“Honorable men, they die hard. …But they still die.”

“The hero is not always the strongest man. Sometimes it’s just the guy who leads the way.”

“There’s always someone more powerful than you.”

“Life’s not all about fighting.” “Come on now, you know that ain’t true.”

You can practically hear the screenwriter snorting a celebratory line after typing each of those. Though I do enjoy that this stars an actor known simply as “Gackt.” GACKT! THIS SUMMER… GET GACKT! IN… GACKT TO THE FUTURE! Yes, I like the sound of that.

[AICN via IFC Films]

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