This was better than I expected, and probably good that I waited some 20 years to watch it as there was the added layer of nostalgia.
The plot, an African-American hit man for the mafia becomes their target - think "Ogami Ittō" from “Lone Wolf and Cub”.
It mashes up perfectly Japanese/Samurai, African American, Hip-Hop and Italian Mob Culture. The casting of the Italian Mobsters, perfect. The gaudy Italian houses, perfect. The background violence in the cartoons, the Samurai Sword flourish he does with his gun, both perfect. And - while not the action film you might have hoped for, it's nuanced and slow development of the characters build a certain atmosphere that most current films neglect.
Not quite a masterpiece, but a very good try by director Jim Jarmusch.