Hartnett plays the same moody noir character he seems to have played over and over in Sin City and The Black Dahlia while Woody Harrelson gets the most amusing role of the film as the Bartender. In contrast, Demi Moore gets the most thankless role, a part that could easily have left on the cutting room floor but which is most likely still in the film for marketing purposes.
The sets of Bunraku are elaborately designed like a pop-up book come to life and the film has a vibrant colour to it that engages on a visual level. In its style, the closest comparison would be to Sin City, as Bunraku plays with a similar awareness of comic conventions.
Unfortunately, Bunraku's primary focus is the visual aspect, with the little story there is playing like an afterthought. Whereas Sin City has a clarity of vision and commendably weaves together a few engaging threads, Bunraku is a much simpler piece with fight scenes comprising the bulk of the film, connected by a bare semblance of story.
This would be more palatable if the fight choreography was varied and engaging, but it is very much a hit and miss affair, often lacking the brutal energy or elegant dance that makes martial arts films a thrill to watch. All sorts of quirky elements are thrown into the fights to engage the audience but the clutter and the kitchen-sink approach actually detracts from the experience, feeling like a whole lot of noise with little to show for it. It's no surprise that the one fight scene that elicited cheers and claps from the audience was an economical, stripped-down setpiece with a singular focus - a thrilling jailbreak fight in one shot that is like Mirror's Edge (the 2D version) come to life.
The relentless music and over-the-top sound design is simularly clunky in its onslaught and paring back some of its manic approach would help the film vary its tone and give its pacing more shape.
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