We're betting on one of the most amazing television experiences of 2009. On Sunday, January 25, Spike TV will premier an original, animated movie titled Afro Samurai: Resurrection. The story is based on Okazaki's tale of a black samurai's quest to avenge the murder of his father. Jackson provides the voice for both the main character, Afro, and his trash-talking sidekick, Ninja Ninja. Liu provides the voice for villain Sio, a malicious babe who's obsessed with destroying Afro. She steals Afro's father's body from its grave, and all sorts of chaos and bloodshed ensues.
Not only is the two-hour show filled with vocal talent (Mark Hamill also has a role, as Sio's servent, Bin), but the animation is absolutely stunning, with colors that pop off the screen with an almost 3-D effect.
But the best part of Afro Samurai: Resurrection has got to be the soundtrack, courtesy of Wu-Tang Clan legend The RZA. He also did the score for the first installment of the Afro series, Afro Samurai. The music that provides the backdrop for the battle scenes is all epic hip-hop -- big beats, calculated loops, and layers of instrumentation. RZA's score helps capture the cultural combination of hip-hop and martial arts, something he's clearly interested in (he's currently working on the soundtrack to a Kung-Fu movie titled Man with the Iron Fist).
The show's well worth watching, and surround-sound greatly enhances RZA's atmospheric jams. Peep the stills from the show below, and catch the whole movie when it airs on Spike TV on January 25, from 10 p.m. to midnight PST. In the week leading up to the premiere, you can also catch a 30-minute preview of the show at spike.com.
