Curses Abound – Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution Film Review

Nearly two years ago, the infamous Shibuya Incident destroyed the aforementioned city and the emotional well-being of Jujutsu Kaisen fans. But for me, perpetually late to everything and only recently in possession of binge-watching time, it’s been about … four weeks. So my anticipation for season 3 of JJK hasn’t been building as long as some other fans, but I was still hyped to hear that the anime show’s new season is coming soon (January 8, 2026) and that it would be preceded by a feature-length theatrical release.

I missed seeing Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2022) in theaters and didn’t even know about Jujutsu Kaisen: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death – The Movie (2025), so I knew I couldn’t miss Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution. Having overcome my hermit tendencies to actually make it to the movie theater this time, I have some thoughts to share.

Are they objective, possibly nitpicky thoughts that are worthy of consideration? Yes. Am I highly biased and willing to glaze the movie because I love this property so much? … Also yes.

With that in mind, let’s get the negatives out of the way first then head into the positives, from the music to the fight scenes.

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Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution Leads into the Culling Game

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution released outside of Japan on December 5 and pulls double duty, recapping the events of season 2’s Shibuya Incident arc and setting up season 3’s Culling Game arc. That is the movie’s greatest shortcoming. Execution is already relatively short at 87 minutes. So much of that runtime is spent rehashing what audiences are already familiar with that, by the time the new material starts getting interesting, the movie is over.

To be fair, this isn’t the first time a Jujutsu Kaisen movie has done something like this — the Hidden Inventory / Premature Death release that came out earlier this year is a compilation of season 2’s first five episodes. The difference here is that season 2 had already aired by the time the compilation movie hit theaters; fans went in knowing that most, if not all, of what they would see onscreen would be familiar material.

In contrast, 2022’s Jujutsu Kaisen 0 told a completely new part of the story that anime viewers at the time hadn’t seen before. Again, for fairness’ sake, JJK 0 is based on the prequel manga of the same name; it was already its own separate thing and thus was likely easier to present as a whole, contained story. I assumed Execution would do something a little different from both movies and adapt some of the manga’s setup for the Culling Game arc into a film so that the show could immediately start with the events of the Game itself.

I certainly don’t fault the movie for not doing what I assumed it would, but I do still think it suffers a bit for all the time it spends on old material. The presentation of season 3’s new story elements feel undercooked as a result. I think the only reason I understand the movie is because I’m perpetually online and, therefore, spoiled for the rest of JJK‘s story. Anyone unfamiliar with manga will probably be confused by what Execution is trying to set up until season 3 begins airing in January 2026.

My only other complaint is a nitpick: Elements of the editing feel overused by the end of the movie. At several points, the music swells behind a particularly hype or tense moment — the climax of a fight, for example — and then cuts out abruptly while the screen flashes to black before the scene transitions to something entirely different. Eventually, I started trying to predict when the technique would be used and was right more than once.

But since I’ve mentioned music, let’s get on with the glazing.

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Jujutsu Kaisen‘s Soundtrack Is a Strength

Reusing so much of season 2’s story may be a flaw, but I will never complain about any reuse of season 2’s music. JJK‘s soundtrack is stellar; I couldn’t help but discreetly rock out in my seat when season 2 opener “SPECIALZ” kicked in during one of the movie’s early sequences. Hearing the eerie voices that mark the beginning of “Malevolent Shrine” come in as Sukuna unleashed his domain expansion on Mahoraga gave me chills like it does every time I hear that song. In this case, hearing familiar music just made me more excited to think of what might be coming for season 3’s OST.

Another good thing recapping season 2 does is remind us that the story freaking hurt. Yes, I understand that it’s a little questionable to say that re-inflicting emotional damage on audiences is a good thing. For me though, it’s all of those emotional moments that make the fights even more amazing and keep the narrative moving forward. Seeing what happened to Gojo, Nanami, and Nobara again put me back in the same mindset as Yuji Itadori and his remaining allies and reminded me of the high stakes of what’s coming.

Breathtaking Fight Scenes

Naturally, I really can’t talk about the best of Jujutsu Kaisen and not mention the fight scenes. Yuji and Todo vs. Mahito and Sukuna vs. Mahoraga are two of the best animated and choreographed fights in shounen, and though each had much more time to develop in the anime, it was still a joy to see their abridged versions on the big screen.

When the recap was finally over, it was thrilling to watch Yuji take on Yuta Okkotsu, the protagonist of JJK 0. This fight is, after all, what gives Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution its name and serves as its main conflict. The show establishes Yuji’s overwhelming physical prowess early on; his strength is a marvel in-universe, and his task throughout the series has been to master his control of his cursed energy.

Yuta, however, is Yuji’s exact opposite: physically frail, but in possession of so much cursed energy that every one of his attacks poses a serious threat to Yuji despite his lack of strength. This clashing of opposites is something that happens in the series a lot and is part of why I love it so much. Seeing it play out between two characters that have each served as protagonists of different arcs of the story was as tense as it was exciting.

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Finally, as an honorable mention from a dub enjoyer, I love the whole English voice cast so much, but Alan Lee’s performance as Naoya Zen’in is particularly noteworthy. Every syllable he utters is smarmy and delicious, and I truly look forward to hating the character with every fiber of my being in season 3.

All in all, Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is a good time and worth the price of the ticket. Is that true for those who’ve been waiting a few years for new content from JJK instead of a few weeks? It’s hard to say — it depends on why you like the series — but I think so. If nothing else, the peek at what’s to come will have fans excited for the new episodes of what’s quickly become one of the most popular shounen anime in history.

What did you think of Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution? Join the conversation with other anime fans over at Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!