Overall Rating
 Awesome: 53.25%
Worth A Look: 23.98%
Average: 8.94%
Pretty Bad: 8.94%
Total Crap: 4.88%
11 reviews, 180 user ratings
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| Last Samurai, The |
by Slyder
"A worthwhile formula epic"

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The Last Samurai is one of those big-budget epics that recall the days of Lawrence of Arabia and (to a closer extent) Dances With Wolves, and even though the film is pretty much a rehash of the old epic formula, it’s still capable of delivering some great filmmaking.Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is a drunken, self-destructive, fucked up Union captain who fought and killed Indians, and even women and children, the last one which keeps him in utter remorse. So one day, he’s offered by some Japanese trader Omura (Masato Harada), and his nemesis Col. Bagley (Tony Goldwyn), to go to Japan and train a bunch of Japanese Imperial soldiers, so they can go and beat the shit out of a Samurai rebellion headed by Lord Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). Predictably so, Algren and his army are sent to the front without being completely ready, and thanks to this, they get their asses kicked, and Algren is taken prisoner, he then starts embracing the Japanese Samurai culture and later fights with them against the imperialists.
First thing’s first, the plot is predictable, and that takes off the dramatic punch that this film would’ve offered. This scenario has already been done before and even better and thanks to this, the film suffers due to the fact that it it’s a big-budget star vehicle. The FX is okay, and I was a little disappointed due to the fact of how FAKE Mt. Fujiyama looked in the distance.
Fortunately, that doesn’t make it a complete write-off. As a formula epic, it must have something to back up on, right? And it does, since it has some really nice photography of the Japanese settings. The battle sequences, though few and far in between are very well staged and bloody. Especially since all the Samurai fights are always impressive to watch, though I must say that the final sequence is somewhat overplayed. I can’t say anything about historical inaccuracy since I haven’t read this actual portion of history before, but despite the formula, it’s not bad, though I would’ve loved some development on the characters of Omara and the Emperor Meiji (Shichinosuke Nakamura). The love story between Algren and Taka (Koyuki) is grossly underdeveloped, but I guess it should since Algren killed her husband during the first fight, but the tensions were evident and the ends don’t justify the means in this part. Edward Zwick’s direction is average and follows the epic manual by the book. Zwick does the wise thing though, of letting the Japanese speak their own language when they’re in their own country and amongst themselves. As for the rest, he would’ve been better. The ending was sugarcoated, and that pretty much is the final nail in the film’s cross that prevents it from being a great epic.
The cast was uneven but good. Tom Cruise gives his best as Capt. Algren, but unfortunately he suffers from what he has suffered for so many years: he’s too goddamn erratic; the guy can be impressive and hard-hitting in certain parts, but in others he’s just as blank as a block of wood. The single broad standout of the film though is Ken Watanabe as Katsumoto; he delivers an intense and emotional performance which has earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and he deserves it, since he steals this film right from under the bigger star Cruise’s nose. Tony Goldwyn rehashes once again his bad guy roles, a thing which is beginning to be tiresome if you ask me. The rest was alright.In the end, this film is recommended for fans of the epic genre, and curious minds alike. This film didn’t necessarily set the world on fire, but it has its share of goodies, and it’s mostly entertaining, with some noteworthy production values and acting. All in all, a pretty good film to spend the night. 4-5
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link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=8374&reviewer=235 originally posted: 02/01/04 11:32:53
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USA 05-Dec-2003 (R) DVD: 04-May-2004
UK N/A
Australia 15-Jan-2004
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