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The Last Samurai
Movie Stats & Links |
| Starring: |
Tom Cruise,
Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Ken Watanabe |
| MPAA Rated: |
R |
| Released By: |
Warner Bros. |
| Web Site: |
www.lastsamurai.com |
| Kiddie Movie: |
Leave them with
the sitter. |
| Date Movie: |
It's good for the both of you. |
| Gratuitous Sex: |
Nah. |
| Gratuitous
Violence: |
Lots and lots. |
| Action: |
The fights scenes
are great. |
| Laughs: |
There's a chuckle
or two. |
| Memorable
Scene: |
The fight scenes. |
| Memorable
Quote: |
Nothing stands
out. |
| Directed By: |
Edward Zwick |
| Produced By: |
Scott Kroopf, Tom
Engelman, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Tom Cruise and
Paula Wagner |
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The Last Samurai
A Movie Review |
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He might still get the Academy Award for Best Actor
for his role as Nathan in "The Last Samurai," but for a change Tom
Cruise gets his film of epic proportions in a season where there are
really too many top performances by dudes. I’m not saying he doesn’t
deserve it, but really the better actor in this movie was Ken
Watanabe as Katsumoto. Let’s fill you in on some of the details.
Nathan is a war hero in America, but he’s also a drunk. He’s
disgruntled with those around him, mostly because their arrogance put
him in a battle that shouldn’t have been fought, mostly because it was
a massacre of women and children Indians. Back in Japan, Katsumoto has
been steadily defeating the government’s fighters with his band of
Samurai warriors. Well, the advisors to the emperor suggest bringing in
the Americans with their modern weapons as a means to finally defeat
Katsumoto. The American advisors know the best man for the job is
Nathan, so money drives Nathan across the Pacific to train the
emperor’s soldiers. This is a task that will take some time, but the
advisors and Nathan’s superiors are growing impatient and make Nathan
take the troops into battle before they are ready. Well, Nathan’s
troops pretty much stand no chance, and he gets captured by Kotsumoto
who realizes killing Nathan wouldn’t be nearly as wise as studying his
opponent.
Well, eventually Nathan gets sucked into the Samurai culture, a lot
of it having to do with his falling for a dudette and liking her
kids. Eventually its showdown time and Nathan has to pick sides –
hang with the emperor or with Katsumoto. It’s pretty easy to figure
out whose side he ends up on.
"The Last Samurai" is really a good movie, with spectacular
scenery, kick-ass fight scenes, and Tom Cruise doing a good job as the
American soldier disgruntled with his commanding officers. It’s just
that Cruise looks too polished for a movie set in the 1800’s, and that
might hurt his chances at a statue. Watanabe as Katsumoto, on the
other hand, comes across as the perfect Samurai leader. He is strong
yet gentle, intelligent yet patient, and looks the part a little bit
better. It’s rated R for a reason, the battle scenes are brutal and
really show the effects of hand to hand combat and the ability to
massacre that modern weapons brought to the lands. It’s an epic film
that might just get left behind due to the quality of films that hit
this year. I give it 4 ½ stars out of 5.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!! |
