Tom Cruise is The Last Samurai? Yeah sure, why not?

Rating: 9/10 (6 January 2020)

Before I sat down to watch the film, thought the premise of Tom Cruise as The Last Samurai was completely ridiculous. But in the context of the film it makes sense and The Last Samurai is a great movie indeed. Tom Cruise is an a self loathing alcoholic soldier that gets a job abroad in a rapidly modernized Japan to train Japanese soldiers. In a battle with their enemy, the last remaining clan of samurai he ends up in captivity. In the months that follow after living with the samurai, he ends up embracing the traditional Japanese culture and changing his ways. This is easily my favorite movie that Tom Cruise has made and he delivers a great performance as the lead. Ken Wantanabe gives a extremely powerful performance in his English language debut as the leader of the samurai clan. The film itself is really well put together and beautifully shot and scored. The battle scenes look fantastic as well. This is really well done epic film making and great entertainment. This is mostly a good story about a man and his personal journey of redemption. But also brings to light western imperialism and racism that runs deep in our culture and how it has effected the world at large. Great movie, really well done.