This Movie Was AWESOME!

Rating: Null/10 (16 August 2004)

Despite the fact that I am not a Tom Cruise fan,(never liked him in anything except Far And Away) I thoroughly enjoyed this movie which I just watched on DVD last night. I still don't think he has any great acting ability and feel that this movie is just sooo good that MANY actors could have carried his part. As an example- Warning Spoilers ahead: When the Japanese widow of the warrior he killed is dressing him in the samuri armor she shows great feeling for him in her movements and especially her eyes, while Tom Cruise's character seems totally unaffected, like a statue, and his eyes show no emotion what-so-ever. This, despite the fact that the movie has been leading you on with shots of their growing feelings to one another, but even in those, she is the one who gets the point across, much more so than anything Cruise gets across. I have always found Tom Cruise attractive, but his acting just doesn't impress me at all. He just doesn't have "something" for me. I don't know if it is the movies he has been in or exactly what it is. Yet this movie is excellent and his ability as an actor, I am still not convinced of. I actually think I would have been even more moved by another actor playing his character,but cannot think of who I would have chosen at this minute. I agree that he did not deserve an oscar for this part. This wonderful part carried itself, in this film. That said, I must say, I found the film beautiful to look at and very emotionally moving on several different levels. It was a wonderful movie-watching experience for me. I give it an 8 out of 10.