Everything everyone says it is... BUT...

Rating: 4/10 (4 December 2003)

The Last Samurai is everything everyone says it is. Exhilarating, poetic, beautiful to look at, it is like a painting in a canvas, that you look at and wonder at the technique of the artists.
The problem is that I never stopped looking at the technique, I never got involved in the story. I was not swept away by the directing, rather, forced along...
I really can't put my finger on why it was that I didn't love this movie. Although I did love the battle sequences OH BOY!
I am a fan of Tom Cruise, have always been, but I just didn't quite buy him in this role. He was servicable, he was fine, but he was not the actor for the job. I kept thinking about the wonderful things Russell Crowe could have done with this role. And that's when it hit me. I have seen this movie so many times over the last couple of years. BRAVEHEART, GLADIATOR, CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON, This movie follows a formula which I like to call, the "Let's go for a best picture nomination FORMULA"...
I do think it's one of the top ten movies of the year. Simply because of the way it portrays it's Japanese characters. Still --- when it's all said and done. I walked out of the film feeling a little cheated by the experience. I felt like the director, designer and cinematographer were saying... LOOK OVER HERE! aren't I GREAT!!!! everything was individually great, it just never came together as a complete film for me.