A cheap plastic chair and a Coke on a table in a Japanese garden

Rating: 4/10 (1 June 2006)

The plastic chair is...Tom Cruise. Maverick in a historical, character development-driven movie...bad casting to say the least. And the table with the Coke is the exaggerated action and the bad taste simplicity of the storytelling and dialog. And the rip-off...pleeeaasseeee. What exactly was original in this movie? What was the documentation of this movie: multiple viewings of Dancing with Wolves and Shogun? With all its shortcomings, the movie might have worked to some extent, but as soon as it got a little off the ground, little Tommy stepped in and ruined it. It was not necessarily his mediocre acting (here it was mediocre, usually it's BAD) but the fact that he was inappropriate for the part. Mr "Risky Business" (as in "Risky to cast him in serious roles") doesn't look like a broken down disillusioned vet. 3 points are for some nice filming and landscapes, nice topic and good supporting cast (especially the Japanese actor playing the samurai boss). The rest is cheap, predictable and melodramatic (in a bad sense).