Goemon is a Japanese ninja bandit folk hero, a Robin Hood-type figure who stole from the rich and gave to the poor and is famous for being boiled alive after an assassination attempt on a notorious warlord went wrong. But where England’s own legendary outlaw got a muddy-realism makeover recently courtesy of Ridley Scott, and emerged as a stern-jawed leader of men, Kazuaki Kiriya (director of bonkers sci-fi epic Casshern) is more a gaze-at-the-stars kind of guy. His Goemon is a heady tale of freedom versus injustice, brought to life with imagination, spectacle and spirit.

Sengoku period Japan is a land riven by constant war and deep social injustice following the murder of unifying ruler Oba Nobunanga. Goemon is living it up as hero of the people, blissfully free from obligations or allegiances, as around him rival warlords jostle for position and the masses live in poverty and fear. But then he accidentally steals what seems at first to be an empty box, and everything changes. Goemon finds himself drawn into wider affairs, and has to choose between his individual freedom and his destiny – which is to avenge Nobunanga, who rescued him from bandits when he was a child, and free the land from eternal war. Along the way, of course, he must defeat an evil samurai lord, love a beautiful imprisoned princess, fight various legendary swordsmen, scuffle with his childhood best friend, and confront his own history.

Goemon is visually stunning, and gleefully untroubled by period realism – no faithfully distressed sacking and authentically grubby tunics here. Instead, the film is lit up by comic book exaggeration – SF-inspired costumes, exquisite sets, dazzling colour, breathtaking pace, unbelievable fight sequences – all digitally-enhanced and amplified. And it has heart. Goemon is deeply distrustful of power – political, financial or sexual; it worries over questions of individual freedom, and asks if it’s better to work within or outside the system; and it’s driven by the forces of loyalty, betrayal and revenge.

This, surely, is what a big budget fantasy epic should be. Goemon might not be original in its storyline, but it charts an individual’s moral struggle, it has action, romance, comedy and tragedy, and it transports the viewer into a new and fantastical realm. There’s enough muddy tedium in everyday life without letting it bog down our legendary heroes too.