Could have been a little better, but rises above the precedents of the action genre.

Rating: 7/10 (17 July 2017)

I was a little disappointed with this movie, but it was pretty good on the whole. Even though I didn't agree with some of the sentiments that the samurai held, I could understand how someone could live their life the samurai way. The people that Algren comes to know display a level of devotion to their lives that is rarely seen in modern civilizations, which is what the movie seems to be all about. The logic behind the samurai obsessing over how they die is thrown into question, perhaps because the samurai seem more focused on their own honor than on what consequences their deaths will have. It does seem illogical, but there is something to the fact that they are willing to die for something. The spirit is there, it's just not channeled in quite the right way.
That may seem like a long digression, but the concept is actually pretty important to the film's identity. Although there is enough big Hollywood entertainment in this movie for it to attract action/adventure fans, there is also a fair amount of emotion and ideology that comes into question. The story may not be accurate to historical events, but it brings to light one of the darker parts of American history that is often swept under the rug in a way that feels accurate. Algren's background on the Western frontier plays a major role in his arc as he redeems himself for the pain he caused the Native Americans in the past.
Equally important to Algren is the village leader Katsumoto, who becomes the sage of the movie but is not without flaws. He and the rest of the villagers along with their way of life are not perfect and are certainly not modern, but they possess ardent beliefs and a purpose that is lacking in the westernized characters. By the end of the movie, Algren and Katsumoto are not exactly seeing eye to eye, but they each understand where the other is coming from and have partially adopted each other's views.
There is a good amount of action present throughout the movie, though it's meant to disgust as much as it is to excite. Laced into all of the action scenes are character moments, mostly for Algren but not exclusively. There's some good camera work that goes into the action scenes, particularly the one in which Algren duels one of the samurai. But the movie does not let itself get too caught up in the action, putting much focus on the relationship between Algren and the family that takes him in. There is also a lot of time dedicated to the conversations between Algren and Katsumoto. There are points where the acting is overly dramatic and the lines feel too written, but that is the movie's only true fault. Not to say that it couldn't have been better, but there is not much to complain about. Overall Rating: 8/10