Overall Rating
 Awesome: 52.96%
Worth A Look: 24.11%
Average: 9.09%
Pretty Bad: 8.7%
Total Crap: 5.14%
11 reviews, 187 user ratings
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| Last Samurai, The |
by Brian McKay
"Cruise is Pretty Fly, for a White Samurai Guy"
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The one aspect of this production I wasn't thrilled about from the very beginning is probably the most obvious one: Cruise. Bad enough they had to go make a Samurai movie with a white guy in the lead, but did they have to put such a mainstream camera-mugging pretty boy in the role? It's the kind of studio move that screams "star vehicle", and if there's one thing an epic film about the loss of thousand-year-old traditions to modernism and Westernization should NOT be, it's another goddamn star vehicle for the likes of Tom Cruise. And yet I must hand it to him, he rose to the occasion and eventually won me over -- or maybe the rest of the movie was good enough that I didn't mind he was in it.We are introduced to Captain Nathan Algren (Cruise), a "hero" of the frontier wars who served under the infamous General Custer and witnessed a number of atrocities against innocent Native Americans. Now he's a spokesman for Winchester Arms in San Francisco circa 1876, putting on a gun and pony show for the crowds so that he can earn enough money to reach the bottom of a bottle every night. Whiskey is the only thing that can kill his pain, and amid several scenes of anguished grimacing mingled with flashbacks of wholesale Cheyenne slaughter, an old military comrade (Billy Connolly) shows up to offer Algren a job in Japan, teaching peasant conscripts how to wage war with American-made rifles.
Long before his troops are ready, they are sent against a group of renegade Samurai - the remnants of the warrior traditions that have been eschewed in the name of modern progress. After Algren's inexperienced troops are scattered by the formidable Samurai cavalry, their leader, Katusmoto (Ken Watanabe), spares Algren's life after witnessing the white man's ferociousness on the battlefield. Katsumoto and his men take the wounded Algren back to their village, and he burdens his sister, Taka (like the actress who plays her, Koyuki, she apparently only has the one name), with the task of nursing Algren's wounds. As he spends the winter amongst Katsumoto's people, learning their language and their combat techniques, he predictably enough goes native (and one couldn't pick a more fantastic spot to go native in -- the scenery in Last Samurai, as in Japan itself, is amazing).
Yes, the Dances With Wolves comparisons are painfully unavoidable, except that even Cruise is a much better actor than Costner ever was, and the epic scope of this film and its battle sequences are far more ambitious than anything seen in Costner's film. As I predicted, the Japanese cast members turn in the strongest performances. Ken Watanabe gives a moving portrait of Katsumoto, a warrior-philosopher in the truest sense whose martial prowess is tempered with compassion and wisdom. It's also refreshing to see that the relationship between Algren and Taka is subdued yet powerful. No rushing into each other's arms, no steamy sex scene, no vows of love or devotion -- and yet that passion is there beneath the surface, expressed with glances and body language. And for the record, Miss Koyuki is a prime example of why Japanese women are some of the most exquisitely beautiful and elegant on the planet.
But while the film certainly entertained and even moved me, The Last Samurai just doesn't stack up to the classics. Sure, you can dress Tom up in some lacquered armor and slap a Katana in his hand, and he looks cool. And there's no doubt that he handles himself quite well in the fight scenes. But there's just something missing, some leading-man quality that the Greats had. Toshiro Mifune, Wakayama Tomisaburo, Katsu Shintaro -- all of them radiated a sense of strength and an imposing presence that said "Whoa, look out - Bad Mothafucker in the house!" Tom looks cool, and it's nice to see that he put some heart and guts into this role and didn't just run through it on Cruise control (tip your waitress ... ), but he just doesn't quite convey the soul of a Samurai to me. If anyone is the true leading man of this piece, it's Ken Watanabe. But hey, he's not white, so very sorry -- no top billing for you!
Another problem I have is that the film is just too Americanized, and far too cleanly cut from the formulaic "Epic Blockbuster" cloth. All of the quirky cultural differences that make Japanese Samurai movies so much fun are missing -- it's a film about the Japanese, but with most of the Japanese flavor skimmed off the top. It's not fair to say that Americans can't make a good movie about Samurai -- but I don't think they'll ever make one that feels quite like the real deal (perhaps with Tarantino's Kill Bill being the exception)These nitpicks aside, however, THE LAST SAMURAI is a fine film -- certainly better than one might expect. And all my bitching about having a white boy in the lead role aside, Cruise's character gives the audience a crucial conduit to see Japan through a Westerner's eyes. During one particular voice-over narration, he says (and I paraphrase): "Although I have always questioned the existence of God and his purposes, I cannot deny that there is deep sprituality in this place. And although I will never fully understand it, I am powerless to resist it." If there's a better line that sums up Japan, I would probably be incapable of writing it.
link directly to this review at http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=8374&reviewer=258
originally posted: 12/08/03 15:58:56
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This film is available for download or online viewing at CinemaNow.com For more in the CinemaNow.com series, click here.
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USA
05-Dec-2003 (R)
DVD: 04-May-2004
UK
N/A
Australia
15-Jan-2004
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