The Last Samurai

Starring: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn, William Atherton, Billy Connolly
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Drama
2003

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: To combat the resistence of Samurai warriors in a changing Japan, an American mercenary (Tony Goldwyn) enlists the help of a Civil War hero (Tom Cruise) to train Japanese troops to fight the samurai. However, when he is captured by their leader (Ken Watanabe), he discovers they are not the evil people he thought them to be, and over time joins his enemy to fight those who first enlisted him.

Review:

Tim: The Last Samurai is a major letdown. The film looked incredible- a sweeping epic in the middle of Japan, a final battle between the samurai warriors and those who would change Japan forever. In the middle of it, you have Tom Cruise, a normally pretty reliable action hero. He actually managed to look pretty impressive in his samurai gear. The film should have been superb, in a Gladiator-type way. Not so.

It is hard to put the blame on one specific area of the film. If I had to do it, I would say this movie fails because of how long and exceedingly boring it is. I understand in historical war epics that there will be some slow scenes. This is understood. However, much of The Last Samurai is slow, the film dragging its feet and never quite catching up to the attention span of the viewing audience. The whole middle of the film is weak and we soon lose interest with Cruise's character's time spent as a prisoner (and yet somewhat free). The family he joins up with is not nearly as emotional or powerful as it should be, and we find that we care little for the drama on screen.

Even the final battle of the samurai is somewhat anticlimactic. There are a few amazing scenes, but after the long wait leading up to this point, we really aren't all that interested in it when it finally arrives. The ending of the film is incredibly flimsy and as the audience, you can't help but feel cheated at the easy way out taken in the film. You can see the end coming a mile away and the film doesn't so much end but whimper on its way out.

Tom Cruise is not that spectacular, either. He gives a decent performance, but in historical epics, a decent performance will not do. Did Russell Crowe only give a decent performance in Gladiator? I think not. I should mention that Ken Watanabe is quite excellent in the film, and his Academy Award nomination speaks to that. However, with Cruise less than amazing and the rest of the cast besides Watanabe not worth mentioning, The Last Samurai leaves us wanting much, much more. That is, if you are still awake by the end of it.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Gladiator, Troy, Mission: Impossible, Braveheart