WOW.

I really just do not know where to begin with this. Not just in terms of snarky commentary, either — I’m having trouble just digesting this as an individual consumer of movies.

First, understand: I think RZA is something of a musical genius. As far as hip-hop production goes, he is up there with DJ Premier, Prince Paul, Dan The Automator, and maybe (MAYBE) DJ Shadow as far as I’m concerned. I love Wu-Tang, and even his comedic acting cameos in Coffee & Cigarettes, Funny People, and especially the ‘Wu-Tang Financial’ skit on Chappelle’s Show are freaking amazing.

And on the surface, this is the sort of movie that seems like it was developed in a lab for me and my friends: Tarantino is involved, RZA does the soundtrack, and there are copious amounts of bloodletting. Meredith will be the first to tell you about my love of cinematic decapitations.

Still, there’s a strong whiff of “movie-jail” here, but for now let’s just bathe in the nonsensical, ultra-violent glory of this red-band trailer:

• RZA is an African-American blacksmith in China during what appears to be late-19th century China.
• Despite the period, every character eschews the efficiency of guns for ornate bladed weapons, including token-grizzled-white-gaijin Russell Crowe.
• Everyone speaks perfect(ish) English, regardless of cultural origin. Ken Watanabe is as close as we get to a plot-relevant accent.

That’s a LOT of suspension of disbelief. Still, I was pleasantly surprised by Inglorious Basterds; let’s hope this can do the same.

(Via Vulture.com, by way of Adrienne’s RSS feed)