Good battle scenes, a little melodramatic

Rating: Null/10 (18 June 2004)

Ken Watanabe shines as Katsumoto in The Last Samurai, a wannabe epic that falls short of those expectations, but is still entertaining. Tom Cruise's character, Captain Nathan Algren, begins the movie slaughtering dozens of samurai singlehandedly, then can't beat one in a stick fight, then after months of training, is presented once again as a one-man army, capable of taking down a half-dozen ninjas with nothing more than a smoking jacket and a far-away look. Cruise's character is left with a few holes, such as why he hates Col. Bagley (Tony Goldwyn) so much, and is also left with a half-realized romance that never has any payoff. Watanabe is perfect as Katsumoto, as his lead samurai rings with authenticity. The first & final battle scenes are first-rate, while I would not put them on the level of Braveheart, Glory, or Ran, I still think they're outstanding.