And James Brown Said Living In America, Oops, Sorry  Japan'.

Rating: 8/10 (10 February 2004)

The epic movie seems to creating a lot of interest among producers and when we see this we can wonder no further. These movies are very moving and draw you in with their deep characters and even deeper stories. The dedication required from cast and crew will be far higher than for the regular popcorn movie designed to put butts in seats. If well done this does translate to the audience who become fully engrossed in a good story and will remain transfixed to the very end despite these movies usually long time length.

The Last Samurai' is indeed an epic movie displaying all the necessary characteristics indicated above. Unfortunately the translation to the audiences did not carry through to the Academy and this will be largely due to the fact that The Lord Of The Rings' trilogy has come to end and is due for a few necessary awards. I am not going to look at the look at the reasons for the few Academy nominations, but rather at what aspects made this movie capture my imagination above others.
As good as it is - it is flawed in a few places. The one area of particular note is the beginning. It is a logical start to the movie which quickly introduces us to some of the main characters and tries to show us the mental torment of Nathan Algren (Cruise). He is plagued by the memories of the atrocities of the American army when they fought the Indians. The right direction was thus set as this enables the story to ease quite nicely into an interesting clash of cultures later on, but at this point the moviemakers seem intent on quickly moving us through an important part of the film where we see the characters problems of conscious and the shame he holds for his own culture. The scenes splutter across the screen as we are ushered through the obligatory character aspects to the juicy part of the movie which for me is where the unprepared Japanese trainees have to face the formidable Samurai's. From here on, the movie flows gracefully until the final scenes.
During the final stand of the Samurais', some of the Japanese soldiers start to exude pity and remorse in the face of the slaughter of their fellow countrymen who are after all only taking a stand for the Japanese way. The acting here is not of the highest caliber and nearly ruined what was a most grand climax. It appears hammed and although this was the right emotion to portray for the moment, it was not strong enough especially in the face of other performances.
Despite the opening scenes, there is a real effort to tell a meaningful story. This is evident through the restraint exercised over the characters. The bad guys do not have cheap punch lines, but as in the case of Algren's superior officer, seems well schooled and sophisticated. The love interest between Cruise and his fallen foes wife is completely devoid of the high testosterone charged skirt chasing reminiscent of some of Cruise's past characters. The only hint at sexual yearning was when she lovingly dresses him for the final battle. The final scene consists of a loving look into each others eyes. This clearly indicated the intent at making a meaningful movie which may mature on DVD stands like a fine red wine.
The epic movie needs an epic character and this is provided in the form of Cruise. Complexities of character for the lead role are necessary. To this regard, he portrays a man distanced from his own culture which practices the end justifies the means. The culture which he falls into the capture of has elements which he does not approve of, such as their apparent lack of value for life when they must take their own life in the face of defeat. But he warms to them since they are standing against the predatory culture of which is so ashamed. The Americans and ambitious Japanese see savages while he sees a people who wish to retain their ancient ways which are pure in intent. The characters obstacle of acceptance is great since he has killed one of their best in battle but was ultimately defeated meaning that he should have taken his own life. His spirit and discipline wins them over and they accept him as a warrior worthy of their own. The epic character had found that their belief in similar principles endeared them to each other.
Cruise as always has a commanding presence throughout and after the opening twenty minutes truly shows that he has what he takes to win an Oscar. Although it will not be this year, his dedication to making each project that he takes on a success must mean that he will eventually win it. I have always thought of his name on the poster as a quality stamp of approval. Even his less popular movies are still commendable. The Last Samurai' leaves no room for doubt that this is a man who takes his craft very seriously indeed  for a movie of this magnitude, it needed to be.

Authenticity is important for the epic movie and we are not disappointed. The sword fights are well rehearsed and the cinematography is well orchestrated here as we do not stay long with one shot which heightens the action as well as not allowing for evidence of unskilled swordsmanship  not that these guys were that bad, though. The costumes were striking and did not appear to drown the characters as sometimes occurs in period movies.

The acting was solid throughout with a few minor noticeable exceptions. Connolly was entertaining for the short screen time that he occupied. Tony Goldwyn was good as the self  righteous and pompous Colonel Bagley. The Emperor was portrayed very well by Nakumura as being weak and open to influence from the greed of the West. At the end he realizes his heritage and sees the traders for what they are. A lot of acclaim has gone to the supporting actor, Ken Watanabe, and although rightfully bestowed it is for me as already mentioned, Cruise who leads from the front.
Depth of character and depth of story is the strongest redeeming elements here. We have a character haunted by a tortured past, disillusioned with his culture and sells' his skills, which were used for suppression, for money. He is captured by a group of rebels who may be different in many ways from himself, but have the same sense of disillusionment with their culture which is losing it's purity for greed. He had finally found himself and was willing to die for it, as were the Samurai. The epic movie must mean that the hero has to have something that he believes in so dearly, that he is willing to die for it. Only by doing this, will he find ultimate fulfillment and become the gallant hero that the audience were wishing for. This story is delivered with a juxtaposition of cultures skillfully crafted leading us not only to the end of the hero's journey, but to teach us something about ourselves as well. Indeed, this is upper end entertainment well worth a place in the DVD cabinet.