A very good time

Rating: 9/10 (14 January 2004)

First of all the movie was not overwrought or cliched except perhaps for a couple of scenes, and the ending was satisfyingly ambiguous....Much in line with the the spirit of the times, and not just in Japan. The battle scenes I found were more enjoyable and less abritrary the LOTR and the development of the plot appropriately paced. I found it even a little more rousing and emotional, at least in terms that i could identify with than ROTK. I guess unlike ROTK and precedents, the story was a good one but simple. Thus it left a little more time and resources for good execution. I was amazed although not suprised at the performances of the Japanese contingent in this movie, and Tom Cruise was quite bearable, and the training he put in for the movie definitely paid off. The cinematography and scenery spoke for itself, but I am biased! At the end of the day, the movie was sufficiently cynical about some historical things, and idealistic about others- but i think in the right way around. Perhaps the Samurai came off as being little too overglorified and consistent in their virtue (as with any human spiritual/religious sect, consistency is desired but not always achieved), but it made for an excellent story and vehicle for alluding to the troubling loss of virtue and ethical coherency endured at the time, and one that may well be appropriately contemplated now. Overall it kicked the butt seriously
BTW, I dont understand the "Dances with Wolves in Japan" criticism. The premise is admittedly the same- a tormented US Civil War veteran finding solace in the customs in another culture- but the development of the story is completely different. First it is a completely different culture so therefore the internal dynamics and interactions are different, which in itself is interesting. Anyone who misses this has perhaps too much interest in the technical aspects rather than the movies key theme. Secondly, DWW was more a love story, while in the LS the love story (happily) is quite incidental, other than to express the cultural different conceptions of virtue (vis a vis her somewhat "troubled" initial relationship with Algren), and for that matter quite intriguing because of it.