One of the best Adventure movies and an excellent performance from Cruise.

Rating: 9/10 (29 August 2007)

Sure, Tom Cruise hasn't always been the most respected person in his actual life, but you have to give him some kudos for his performance here as a Civil War vet caught between two opposing sides at war with each other in 1870 Japan.
The movie has basically everything: excellent cinematography, skilled direction by Edward Zwick ( GLORY, COURAGE UNDER FIRE ), skilled supporting actors ( Billy Connelly, Ken Watanobe,etc.) and brutal battle sequences. These all flow very well together and, by the end of the film, you'll be crying a river for it's dark history and characters, that the viewer have grown attached, to that will bleed for others and a cause they all believe in.
The violence never feels gratuitous and will fit perfectly in your DVD collection of classics. It is a spectacle for the eyes, an education for the noggin and a pleasing film for fans of other feudal Japan movies like Akira Kurosawa's "RAN" and "THE SEVEN SAMURAI."
A must-see !