Dances with Samurai

Rating: 7/10 (11 December 2003)

Few films in recent memory have inspired as much ambivalence from me as Edward Zwick's action epic `The Last Samurai'. Zwick has made his best film since 1989's `Glory', a truly gripping and visually stunning effort. But `The Last Samurai' is frequently undermined by it's extreme similarity to Kevin Costner's `Dances with Wolves'. In fact, the mid-section of `Samurai' could be considered a virtual remake. Admittedly, I am perhaps overly sensitive to this - `Dances with Wolves' is one of the films that most influenced my views on film, and will therefore always stand out in my mind. But to anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Costner's film,. the similarities will be distracting (the decision to have the Tom Cruise character actually keep a journal which is used as the filmÂ‘s voice over narration ranks among the worst ideas in movie history).
The third act of `The Last Samurai' corrects that problem. While at this point the film actually shifts into something more akin to Mel Gibson's `Braveheart', it is far less blatantly so, and at this point Zwick's movie takes off and assumes a life of it's own, with dazzling action scenes and strong performances from Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. In fact, the film plays so well at this point that it's tempting to completely overlook it's earlier missteps, which speaks very highly of Zwick's abilities as a director (as well as the abilities of two-timeOscar winning cinematographer John Toll. who will probably win his third statue for this one)..
Other than it's derivative nature, the biggest flaw to `The Last Samurai' is that it never clearly demonstrates what exactly the samurai are fighting against. Whether or not you agree with `Dances with Wolves' take on western expansion, you have to admit that IN THE FILM, the Sioux are clearing being mistreated, and their plight is made clear. In `Samurai', we are told that the Japanese Emperor is listening to advisor who `act in their own interests', and that a proposed treaty between Japan and America is `not in the best interest of the Japanese people.' And yet, we never really see or hear exactly why this is true.
In the end, `The Last Samurai' is really a dressed-up action movie, and as such, it's one of the best we've had all year. If you are able to get past the `been there, done that' feel of the mid-section, there is much to enjoy, and despite my reservations I give the film a strong recommendation.