A versatile drama worthy of a wide audience's attention.

Rating: 9/10 (7 June 2006)

The Last Samurai is not what you might call "4 star Oscar material" - but it manages to succeed simultaneously as a drama and as an action piece, and it manages to deal with many different forms of emotion on many different levels.
Tom Cruise stars as Nathan Algren, an American captain who is called to fight the Japanese Samurai. Algren is haunted by his memories of the Native American slaughter, and they keep returning to him - until he is defeated by the Samurai and taken in to learn their ways. You can tell that the movie borrows from the book "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," since some of the stories and motifs from the book are very familiar within the movie, and since Algren's history with the Indians is an apparent backdrop for the movie's story. The word "savage" is used heavily by the hardcore American fighters, and like in the book, Algren is spared from his comrades' fate because the enemy appreciates how hard he fought.
What makes this movie so versatile is how, at different points in the story, it can cover many dramatic feelings with such subtle touches. The story that is told through Algren's adventures begins with remorse. Upon encountering Katsumoto - the wisened leader of the samurai, masterfully portrayed by Ken Watanabe - Algren begins to understand the samurai, and he learns honor, discipline, and culture. Under Edward Zwick's beautiful direction, you can manage to understand and appreciate the themes of the movie by watching more than listening.
What holds The Last Samurai back is the choice of Tom Cruise for the protagonist. While he is not a bad actor at all, he himself is too glamorous and scandalous for a role that is intended to be subdued. Also, he manages to look convincing in everything he does, but something about the way he sounds is inconsistent and out of pace with the other actors in the film. He seems to approach this the same way he approached Minority Report - while he was perfect for that role, it doesn't work the same way here. Finally, one thing the film dwells on for too long is the concept of destiny. You know it's gone too far when it is asked if you can change your destiny when, as any logical person would tell you, part of the idea of destiny is that you have to end somewhere.
Nonetheless, I would strongly recommend The Last Samurai because it never dwells on anything for too long, and because the writing is always sharp and never awkward. The romance takes a backseat - where it belongs - by making it feel more like respect and mutual appreciation than desire or lust. The direction of Edward Zwick (Glory) is an appropriately slower pace, and it correctly accentuates the artistic approach to the film and the focus on the dramatic elements. The Last Samurai, besides providing lengthy and well-choreographed battle scenes, manages to succeed as a drama because it shows viewers the importance of honor and family, the significance of discipline and tradition, and finally, the glory - and tragedy - of war. But most importantly, it demonstrates the curse of an industrialized, unappreciative, and cold-hearted culture, and it will help to give you a better idea of what peace truly can be.