Works Well On A Lot Of Levels

Rating: 8/10 (25 April 2016)

Odd as it may seem, but "The Last Samurai" never quite had that much of an impact on me. Which seems unorthodox because I happen to enjoy samurai films. Not only that, but I've been a fan of movies that were directed by Edward Zwick (especially "Glory"). And Ken Watanabe comes to the table fully prepared in whatever role he plays. So the least I could was give this movie at least a try.
The story begins during the American Civil War as eternally inebriated war veteran Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) has his life twisted in an indecipherable knot. When he's not gulping down the sauce, the unforgettable traumas come back to haunt him as he can't forgive himself over the murders of several Native Americans.
Col. Bagley (Tony Goldwyn) assigns Algren to Japan and guide their army with more advanced military weapons like rifles, muskets and cannons to their advantage. Only doing if for the good pay that comes with it, Algren agrees to it and as way to expunge his troubled past behind him. Much in the same route as "Dances With Wolves", Algren is leading a very inexperienced army against a very well-trained group of samurai warriors led by the oracular Katsumoto (Watanabe). Algren's army is defected and Algren is captured.
During his abduction, Algren starts to progressively bond with the knowledgeable but understanding Katsumoto as each start to learn more about the purposes of war and what it means to each of them. As time progresses, Algren starts to feel a more spiritual vibe about the samurai way of life and the not so glamorous depiction of war by the Japanese Emperor and what his modernized fighters represent. The events eventually transpires to an all-out climactic battle and who in the end comes out on top.
So what was it that stood out like sore thumb about this movie? It must be the fact that Tom Cruise doesn't look like he's cut out for a period piece film. He tries to fit in, but he can't really quite grip in breaking away from the fact he's living in the 1860's and not 2003. His acting is very well executed he just lacks that connection that catches him off guard and that can be a problem when the audience feels it too.
Fortunately everything else seems to work out very well. The production values are quite spot on, the locality of this film was top of the line and the costumes and the props give you that feeling that you've returned to the Meiji period in Japan.
For a movie just shy of three hours long, Zwick succeeds in keeping the narrative sharp and the editing well packaged and the dialogue the freedom to go at its own pace. The audience also gets to observe what samurai life is like and the predicament that Algren finds himself. This can be done thank to some brilliant photography by John Toll and an excellent score by Hans Zimmer, we know this film is not playing with kid's gloves. The action really keeps the pace go by very quickly and it really flies by that you never once have to look at your watch a single second.
Sure those who've studied Japanese history or culture will find a major hole in the plot. It seems that the samurai culture is unapologetic in glorification. It seems the feudal samurai people were dominate over the peasants. What they failed to understand was that the Japanese Emperor was catering modern warfare to all the people of Japan and not just the more wealthy samurai. Some of these civilians see this as an advantage and those who rebelled missed what the intentions were and feared they'll lose what power they've been holding.
Overall this is very well made film, however it lack in some areas where it loses some of the more effective ways it could have been. If given the right performer would've made a big difference.