Reviews
‘Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution’ Is A Visual Triumph That Celebrates Big, Brutal Battles [Review]
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution recaps the end of the anime’s second season and teases the start of season three with a visually stunning film that suffers from structure.
“Just save as many people as you can, even if it’s only one.”
Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen has experienced a meteoric rise that’s turned its exaggerated action and Cursed Spirit slaughter into one of the decade’s biggest anime. Jujutsu Kaisen has taken advantage of its intense popularity with cinematic spectacles that either tell original stories or recap the series’ events. 2025 has been an incredibly lucrative year for anime feature films, between the start of Demon Slayer’s Infinity Castle trilogy, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, and now Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution.
Execution chronicles two of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime’s biggest events – season two’s “Shibuya Incident” and the corresponding assassination hit that’s put on Yuji Itadori and turned into Yuta Okkotsu’s responsibility. These are very satisfying events, especially the confrontation between Yuji and Yuta that was teased all the way back in Jujutsu Kaisen 0. Yuta has been left to wait in the wings for years until the Culling Game Arc cathartically connects these dots. Execution gives fans a lot of what they want, but it’s a scrappy patchwork project that doesn’t feel like a proper movie because, in many ways, it’s not.
The Shibuya Incident’s fallout has released ten million Cursed Spirits in Japan and triggered unprecedented chaos for the purpose of bringing back the golden age of Jujutsu sorcery. Execution begins as a sizzle reel of Cursed Spirit-slaying mayhem as Yuji and the rest of the Jujutsu Sorcerers work together, all in service of taking down Kenjaku and Pseudo-Geto in pursuit of freeing Satoru Gojo from the prison realm. The fight between Yuji and Yuta becomes the movie’s real focus and a preview of the mayhem to come as Jujutsu Kaisen’s third season goes beyond the Itadori Execution Arc and actually digs into the manga’s infamous Culling Game Arc.
Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the decade’s most popular shonen anime, but it’s still a shonen anime. There’s a real heart to the film’s storytelling and dramatic weight to Yuji and the company’s plight. Nevertheless, Execution is still guilty of occasionally becoming a case of style over substance as flashy visuals complement traditional archetypes. This isn’t a huge problem when these flashy visuals are as gorgeous as they are here, but it’s still true. Where Execution does successfully stand out is with its challenging Cursed Spirit designs. They’re truly terrifying creatures that feel like they’re ripped from some Clive Barker or David Cronenberg story.
These monsters push boundaries with their disturbing Akira-esque body horror that still finds ways to riff on signature action anime power scaling theatrics. Jujutsu Kaisen also showcases equally creative combat styles where everyone utilizes a unique means of curse and martial arts, so that no two fights feel the same. The film impressively finds ways to continually top itself when it comes to its combat before this madness reaches a frightening fever pitch during the film’s finale.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution may be a makeshift amalgamation of the end and beginning of two separate seasons. That being said, this film’s ideas and conflicts reinforce a grander message about the importance of community and how these loved ones are ultimately what separates many humans from Cursed Spirits. It’s a simple yet fundamental principle that’s sporadically in jeopardy throughout the film, which leaves Yuji on the precipice of darkness. Execution reinforces the importance of legacy and how someone is never truly gone if others keep fighting in their name. The act of saving a single life can become the difference between hope and despair.
There’s a real sense of dread that hangs over Execution’s events, where heavy stakes accompany every action. This is a bloody, brutal affair that racks up an intimidating body count, not as a way to manipulate the audience with artificial obstacles, but to help heighten the heroes’ final fight and everything that it represents. This isn’t just some bout to figure out who is the strongest so that they have Jujutsu Sorcerer bragging rights. It’s literally a battle to rewrite the world and society’s future.
There’s such a heightened theatricality to the combat. Yuji and his opponents enter into aerial showdowns with Man of Steel-level fallout. Phenomenal displays of power tear through reality while the visuals shift with a frenetic fluidity that’s oddly reminiscent of Mamoru Hosoda’s early work or some of Masaaki Yuasa’s wilder creations. It’s a chaotic pairing of style and subject matter that adds to the overwhelming, disorienting experience that Jujutsu Kaisen strives for in this action-packed compilation.
A lot of Execution gets lost in elaborate battle sequences where the anime’s visuals and direction kick into overdrive. The action, combat, and swordplay choreography are on a whole other level, all while a dizzying and diverse color palette becomes a surprising highlight. Jujutsu Kaisen is known for being an especially dark anime, which is more than evident here. The rainbow-colored kaleidoscopic bursts of gruesome gore just become another effective example of how Jujutsu Kaisen stands out among its shonen action and horror peers. It reiterates why MAPPA and Jujutsu Kaisen are such a sublime pairing.
The signature visual madness of director Shōta Goshozono (Mob Psycho 100 II, Chainsaw Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen’s first two seasons) is fully unleashed. MAPPA continues to elevate what’s already exceptional source material, especially when the film’s inspired musical score by Yoshimasa Terui is also added to the equation. It makes all of Yuji’s dramatic and emotional displays resonate even more strongly.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is a satisfying showcase of some of the anime’s best work. However, this cinematic event doesn’t make for a smooth entry point into this popular anime franchise. Execution isn’t exactly accessible to newcomers, but it also doesn’t try to be. It knows that its audience is made up of the hardcore crowd, both for better and for worse. Execution marks the start of the series’ endgame, so even casual fans will be left clueless if they were to just jump in without familiarizing themselves with most of the characters’ backstory and lore.
The film may not make sense to newcomers on a narrative level. However, its godly animation still gives the audience a dazzling cinematic experience that will leave them largely satisfied and praising anime’s merits, even if the entire movie doesn’t fully make sense. Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution tells a full story that allows a sense of closure by the end. It still feels like a setup for a bigger conflict. That’s perhaps not a surprise for many seasoned Jujutsu Kaisen fans who know what they’re getting with Execution, but others may be left wanting a little more than the tantalizing taste that’s provided here.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is the perfect aperitif for the upcoming third season’s Culling Game extravaganza. However, this is not mandatory viewing for anyone besides the Jujutsu Kaisen fans who can’t wait until January.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is in theaters on December 5, with special fan screenings taking place on December 3. Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 begins January 8, 2026.
It’s a big world out there, and that alone can make it seem pretty scary for some people. The uncertainty, the unknown, the unfamiliar – while there are those among us who crave exploration, they’re seemingly outnumbered by those who prefer to close their doors, their borders, and their hearts to whomever – and whatever – sits on the other side. The temptation will be strong to label The Outer Threat as a Temu Disclosure Day, but open your heart to it (and accept its budgetary limitations), and you’ll be rewarded with an engaging, hopeful genre tale.
Daniel (Mark O’Brien) is an astrophysicist living on a remote farm with Michelle (Constance Wu) and their two children (Callista Crowe, Isaac Smelcer-Zhang). He retreats every day to an underground bunker where he monitors and searches the universe for signs of extraterrestrial life, and one morning he finds just that – clear evidence of an advanced civilization that’s successfully found a way to harvest the power of their solar system’s sun. He’s understandably ecstatic and in a hurry to tell the world, but Michelle, a retired scientist who’s nearly given up on humanity as a whole and chooses to focus solely on her family, is adamant that he keep quiet.
He goes against her wishes, obviously, and sends an email filled with data attachments to his boss at NORAD. The result is almost immediate as electrical power, internet connections, and cell service all shut off in and around their small nearby town. Soon small drones are buzzing their farm and peeping in their windows, MQ-9 Reapers are bombing their bunker, and unmarked cars are following their every move.
Writer/director William Woods makes his directorial debut with The Outer Threat, and while his ambitions dwarf his resources, the end result is a compelling family adventure that argues for opening our metaphorical doors to the unknown. A strong cast, that also includes a supporting turn from the always welcome William Fichtner, helps carry the downtime between suspense sequences and minor set pieces. It’s an undeniably small film, but its ideas and conversations are exponentially bigger.
Michelle’s beef with humankind stems from both the personal and the general state of the world at large. Her father (Oscar Hsu) is also a scientist, and like Daniel, he risked valuing his work over his family to the point that Michelle no longer speaks with him. Her bigger issue is knowing that our species is a poor steward of both this planet and each other, and when Daniel accuses her of having little faith in humanity, she replies only “not without reason.”
One of The Outer Threat’s most interesting sequences will feel like a disjointed detour to some, but it actually encapsulates one of the film’s central themes in one simple exchange. The family is on the road and heading to Michelle’s father’s place – she’s not thrilled, but his past work with the government might come in handy – when they decide to stop for food. They reach a tiny town that looks deceptively abandoned and are welcomed into a diner by the owner, Sam (Fichtner), and his young granddaughter.
He’s initially cautious and explains that soldiers had passed through, telling everyone to remain indoors, but he proceeds to feed the family in need while explaining that he’s hoping to scrounge up some fuel to reconnect with the rest of his family. Sam also shares with Michelle that he hesitated to open his door to them simply because they were different. He was fearful, and now he’s ashamed and worried that maybe he’s not the man he thought he was. “What really scares me,” he adds, “was the thought that maybe, just maybe, we’re all rotten.”
She listens. She leaves. And she never tells him about the numerous extra canisters of gas they have in the back of their pickup truck.
It’s a striking character beat as our protagonist, even halfway through the film, remains steadfast in her disconnect from others. She’s far from the only one in need of change, though, as it was Daniel’s hubris and ego that led to this situation in the first place. “Our kids should be home safe,” she tells him at one point, “but you just had to let the world know how smart you are.” Woods and his cast mine drama from this brilliant but misaligned couple, and both Wu and O’Brien are convincing in their motivations and emotions.
Somewhat less convincing are the film’s occasional swings at big visual effects. Drones and weather balloons in the sky are passable, but explosions, vast encampments, and more land with an iffy digital thud. None of them are deal breakers, though, both because they’re used sparingly and because the characters and their dilemma take center stage.
Woods, whose best and brightest accomplishment remains serving as a producer on the criminally underseen 2020 film, The Kid Detective, arguably bites off a bit more than he can chew with The Outer Threat. His big ideas on both story and humankind are inevitably under-explored in a film of this size, and you’ll be left wishing he had a bigger budget behind him. Audiences are bound to expect something more from the film’s third act, especially, so set your expectations accordingly going in that this is more a film about human connection and ideals than it is a tale of alien invasion.
There are moments here of genuine suspense and thrills, but the film’s power rests in those human beats. From Sam revealing he was concealing a gun while making them pancakes, to Michelle’s father pushing aside huge news of world-altering significance so he can instead spend time with grandchildren he’s only just met, to feuding kids combining their skills for an act of bravery, this is a movie about people who can be so much more than we believe ourselves capable of being.
“For thousands of years human beings have been the dominant species on this planet,” says a character at a certain point, “but that’s no longer the case.” The trailer teases this line, and while you can’t fault the marketing department, it might feel like a bit of a bait and switch by the time the end credits roll. You can choose to be underwhelmed, but here’s hoping you open the door to the film’s hopefulness instead.
The Outer Threat is now available on VOD and Digital.
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