Great Movie, I would give it a 10 but Cruz a bit weak to carry such powerfull role.

Rating: 9/10 (7 December 2003)

This is a movie about the noble past and the merciless new. Nations like people have to modernize so that they do not fall behind. This movie captures it very well. The 19 century Japan has transformed itself from a backward country into a modern world class power.
My only complaint is too much political correctness (the old is good and noble and the new is all cynical and bad) and Mr. Cruz barely fits into a role of a tough and gruff warrior.
The photography is breathtaking, the story well written and the clash of the two cultures in the same country is well captured.