Neither the perfect bloom nor great conversation

Rating: 6/10 (14 December 2003)

Greetings again from the darkness. I believe this movie is getting such rave reviews because it has the look and feel of a great movie. Definitely even "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". The mysticism is missing. I did see this in digital projection, rather than film, and the colors seemed to leap off the screen - especially the sky and landscape. The one thing that prevented this from being a great movie is Tom Cruise. He is the only out-of-place thing in the film. Ken Watanabe is wonderful and the stunning Koyuki (as Taka) leaves the audience breathless in numerous scenes. Even Tony Goldwyn smirks his way to the desired level of arrogance. Cruise, on the other hand, is soul-less in his role as a drunken war hero/samurai-wannabe. One of the most absurd moments I have ever seen on screen is when he appears in the doorway wearing the samurai armour. Yes I understand the poignancy of the moment ... it just doesn't work. Cruise's performance reminds me of another over-hyped performance from this season's crop of blockbusters. Russell Crowe in "Master and Commander" is equal to Cruise in his desire to be a movie star, rather than an actor. The story and character should make the movie - not the celebrity. I am not sure how much fault to lay on director Edward Zwick. He seems to have peaked with "About Last Night" and TV's "thirtysomething", but this movie is just beautiful and might have worked, if not for Cruise. Very interesting to see an almost unrecognizable Scott Wilson ("The Right Stuff") as a U.S. ambassador. Anyway, I am always disappointed when a movie doesn't reach its potential, and "The Last Samurai" left me feeling empty, not fulfilled.