Excellent fantasy film!

Rating: 10/10 (19 February 2016)

This isn't a very accurate historical movie and not because it has a white guy playing the Last Samurai. But it's a riveting movie, that has depth and a style that sticks. I remember watching this in theaters and being blown away by how immersive and entertaining this film was at that time. I still watch it from time to time and just doesn't seem to get old. I love films, but a film has to be exceptionally good for me to revisit and check out all over again. And like I said, I watched this movie multiple times. It's like a fantasy movie with historical elements coming to life. And when I mean fantasy, I mean the way they portrayed the samurais in this. They really tried to over glorify and glamorize the samurai and their way of life. It made it appear more like a samurai anime over real samurais in japan at the time. Like they only cared about honor over hierarchy and power. The armor, appearance and the way they dressed was off as well. Yoji Yamada's Samurai Trilogy is a more realistic portrayal of samurais. But that is just what it is, it's a samurai fantasy movie and it's very entertaining to sit through. The film is over about 2 hours and 30 minutes long but feels like a 1 and a half film. While the story being inspired by a real historical figure Jules Brunet, it doesn't even touches the surface when it comes to that area. Watching this is sort of like watching a epic "300" movie. Except with more immersive and heartfelt story that strays away from it just being about the action and violence with more character development. Tom Cruise is outstanding in this and was at the time the perfect guy to play the lead role as the emotionally damaged character named Nathan Algren. Who is a captain in this story that fought against the Indians and has guilt trips about it all. This was the breakout role for Ken Watanabe who plays the supporting character in this. As katsumoto who is the leader of the samurais, he brings about charisma and standout presence when he is on screen. Some say this is like "Dances with Wolves" except with samurais. However I liked this film more. This is a emotional film about code and honor, that pierces through the screen and has an affect like Hayao Miyazaki films.
10/10