Cruise Cuts!

Rating: 7/10 (4 August 2004)

There were not an overabundance of moviegoers which bowed to `The Last Samurai'. The film was a moderate box office disappointment despite the fact it starred megastar Tom Cruise. Did Cruise make a risky business decision in taking on a Japanese epic? Did he feel aggravated that the film did not show him the money? Was it a mission impossible for `The Last Samurai' to obtain blockbuster status? Let me cut to the chase: `The Last Samurai' stars Cruise as Nathan Algren, a 19th century Civil War soldier who takes on a job in training a Japanese army in battling Samurais. In a fierce battle, Algren `sword' of gets held captive by the Samurais. Through a gradual & grueling process, he is befriended and welcomed by the Samurai nation and ends up being `sword' of a Samurai himself. Ken Watanabe co-stars as Katsumoto, the fearless & commanding Samurai leader. Watanabe received a Best Supporting Actor nod for his performance here. He had a tyrannical presence here, but I think the nod was not deserving. I `sword' `watanabe' Sam Rockwell of `Matchstick Men' to had received the Best Supporting Actor nod instead. The masterful components of `The Last Samurai' was its breathtaking cinematography, ingratiating sound editing, and cultural costume design. A few critics felt that the Academy was crude to Cruise by overlooking him for a Best Actor nomination. Tommy Boy's sensible & courageous work was notable but not for him to cruise a Best Actor nod. Director Edward Zwick is one slick director with all the effort he put into the film. All in all, `The Last Samurai ` was quite lengthy and should have `cut' some scenes out, but it still displayed luminous filmmaking qualities. *** Average