A masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (12 October 2004)

The Last Samurai is arguably one of the best movies I have seen.
The story is pretty common and simple. A dillusioned American war hero gets captured by the Samurai and eventually transforms into one of them. The transformation is pretty realistic from drunken soldier to idealistic samurai. Edward Zwick plays puppeteer with all of the characters emotions and reveals only a little by little making them ever so real. The soundtrack is a marvel of music. Hans Zimmer has composed on of the best movie soundtracks ever. It truly draws you into the movie and adds a whole new dimension of depth and emotion to it (which Tom Cruise cannot).
The cinematography deserved an Oscar. Every shot seems that it has been painted and when explosions take place, they look like they were meant for the screen.
Tom Cruise gives an unusually remarkable performance as Capt. Nathan Algren. It seems that the part was tailor made for Cruise with all the shouting and selfishness. But he is not the best actor.
It is Ken watanabe as the Samurai head who gives the most amazing performance. His eyes alone show us what his character is feeling and then of course come the rest of the facial expressions. The rest of the Japanese cast act brilliantly, determined to show their American counterparts who the real bosses are.
It is a direct homage to Dances with the Wolves (right down to the voice over diary entries).
The fight scenes are masterly executed, providing a proper war experience (not like Troy) and the film rarely drags. It just slows down. The only reason it was not well received by the Americans is the fact that they cannot handle the fact that an American converts and chooses another culture over his. One of the best movies ever. 10/10