This couldn't have gotten any better. Masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (16 May 2004)

Considering Tom Cruise hasn't exactly been one of my more favorite actor in Hollywood, I was a little leery of watching this film in theaters simply because he was in it. Probably one of the biggest mistakes I could've made. I rented it because a military history major I knew said that this movie was one of the more historically accurate depictions of the samurai's life he's seen (in Hollywood at least). After watching it, I have to consider this movie to be in my top 10 favorites.
I didn't consider this movie to be an "action" flick when I saw it, and am rather surprised that it was categorized as such. Yes, it has action in it, however there is just as much drama with a little bit of romance included. This combined with Katsumoto's character representing to a certain extent an actual historical figure, Saigo Takamori, with his legendary - if a tad bit mythical - death and the last stand of the samurai, truly makes this film beautiful and deeply moving on a grand scale.
In terms of the samurai life depicted, I've never felt more moved at watching how they lived their life, their death, and what was lost to Japan within the context of the movie. As for the acting, Ken Watanabe and Hiro Sanada couldn't have made a better entrance into the American movie industry, and I truly hope to see more of them. As for Tom Cruise, I couldn't be more impressed with what he's done here. Even though he's center on the poster with his name in large font above, it's obvious after you watch the film that he shared, if not was overlapped by the secondary plot concerning the samurai. As for the length of the film, frankly it was perfect for it's detail. I only wish I could've seen more of the daily life of the samurai depicted.
Not a boring moment, and for the one's who said this was rather dull, that's only if you are expecting a brainless, superficial flick that has no concept of what "artfully done" is. 10/10