Over the top and superficial

Rating: 1/10 (26 November 2003)

A major disappointment.
How many times must we see bloody battle scenes shot in mind numbing slow motion to the strains of overpowering string music? Apparently, the filmmakers who brought us The Last Samurai think we need to see it many more times. My guess is that Ed Zwick and his team meant to portray the horror of war, but guess what, we got it after the first thirty minutes. Showing the same thing over and over again, especially when the result is pre-ordained does not make for good film making.
And it's not like the script offers much of anything in the way of characters. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but don't expect any insight into any of the characters, they are strictly superficial, have no life of their own besides trading platitudes with each other and you keep waiting for them to develop but they don't. And this coming from the screenwriters who wrote Thirtysomething and Once And Again. It makes you wonder if there's any place for good screenwriting in today's studio films.
Another major problem is the complete inconsistency in the main character's fighting ability. After slaying countless Samurai warriors, he finds himself unable to resist for more than three seconds when, taken prisoner he trains with them. And given that this training takes a good half hour of screen time, that is no minor peeve.
Another major screenwriting snafu is that apparently, Ed Zwick and his crew were too busy filming everything in slow motion that they didn't notice that at no point is the reason for all this fighting explained. Maybe they have a degree in Japanese history, for they clearly are quite bright and display a real interest in Japanese culture that bring about one of the the sole qualities of the film, but the rest of the audience doesn't. I know about the Meiji era being the time of cultural upheaval when Japan modernized itself by importing Western ideas and knowledge, but that's about it. I was looking forward to learning more but after the first ten minutes of the film, the bloody gore takes over and any insight into Japanese history is forgotten.
Add to that a picture quality that was much less than satisfactory (was the whole film treated with a low resolution digital intermediate, because it lacked any sharpness or detail in the blacks in 90% of the shots) and you have a film that can be summed up as a complete waste of time.
Avoid at all costs unless you're a major Tom Cruise fan (and he does a great job with what little the script gave him) and you need to see every frame of every project he's in.