A good Hollywood action epic...

Rating: 8/10 (17 March 2005)

I have recently started getting into the Samurai genre, starting with the Kurosawa's Yojimbo, Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood, and Ran as well as Shogun's Samurai(a great, mostly ignored flick) and Sword of Doom. So I finally sucked it up and picked up this movie, curious to see what a mega-sized Hollywood budget could do with the genre. I would have to say that this movie does not compare to any of those previously mentioned, but nonetheless it is an incredibly entertaining action epic, with outstanding costumes, great acting, some fine sword play, and some well-choreographed battle sequences. However, this movie's attempts at philosophy are definitely very simplistic and Western, while Ran, Throne of Blood, Sword of Doom et al examine deeper issues than simple honor and personal redemption.
But, I must digress. I am a sucker for action-epics, and this one is certainly that. There are plenty of tense battle scenes, involving everything from ninjas to brutal sparring sessions to daring rescue missions where samurai with bows and arrows and swords must contend with myriad gunmen. I must say, I found it mildly unrealistic that Cruise's Algren could master Bushido in 6 months, but I guess that's what suspension of disbelief is for.
Anyways, if you like action-epics, and you are curious about the Samurai film genre, I would highly recommend this movie. Then go see "When the Last Sword is Drawn", a Japanese production set in the same time period, which was released in the same year and is a cut above.