Dances with Samurai

Rating: 6/10 (1 January 2004)

Even though this is a good movie, it is far from a great movie. An interesting look into another film where a man (from the West) falls into a world (the East) and evolves as the man he once was. A Man Called Horse, Tarzan (to a degree), Dances with Wolves, and now The Last Samurai holds these comparisons. Still, the movie stands on its own. With the relationship between Cruise and his female lead, the movie ends more powerful than other Hollywood endings where Tom Cruise would pick up his woman into his arms and carry her into the sunset. Here, we get the powerful close up of the two characters as we fade to black. Great action sequences and character development. The movie may fall short to some members in the audience. The reason? Not your typical action film and it is not your typical drama neither. Unique and worth a watch, the Last Samurai is one of Tom Crusies better movies in the past few years.