Flaws in plot

Rating: 6/10 (31 January 2005)

I enjoyed the exploration of Japanese culture, and the struggle between modernisation and tradition, an issue which has found an interesting balance in Japanese society to this day. The one thing I could not stand in the movie was the incredulity in parts of the storyline. As already mentioned, the fight seen where Algren beats 5 samurai with a blunt flag is unbelievable, as is the machine-gun fight scene, where by some lucky coincidence, he is THE last man standing among the whole cavalry charge. And his capture... and the willingness of the samurai community to allow the enemy to join them? Fine, it makes for good drama but it somehow seems a bit too far-fetched a concept. Nonetheless, it does expose a lot of the Spartan and philosophical self-discipline of Bushido, and a great performance by Ken Watanabe. I was a bit disappointed by Cruise's appearance though, it seems like he's becoming more in love with himself as a big-name movie star rather than play the character.