Review:

** ½ (out of ****)

Starring:

Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, William Atherton, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Masato Harada, Timothy Spall, Shichinosuke Nakamura, Togo Igawa, Shin Koyamada, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shun Sugata, Koyuki, Sosuke Ikematsu, Aoi Minato

Director:

Edward Zwick

Screenplay:

John Logan, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz

Length:

154 min.

MPAA Rating:

R (For strong violence and battle sequences)

As Imperial Japan pushes towards industrialization, an American marksman is sent to teach the Emperor's men how to fight. In the end, the lesson will come from a man who will be known as The Last Samurai.

Tom Cruise stars as Captain Nathan Algren, a United States soldier and renowned marksman. After an impressive military career, Algren takes to the bottle and finds himself hocking rifles at fairs. Approached by his government to represent his country on a trip to Japan, Algren balks at the sum offered but with a touch more money, he's on a ship to Tokyo.

When his battalion is rushed into an engagement with the country's Samurai rebels, Algren is captured. Taken back to their mountain refuge, Algren meets their leader Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), a gifted warrior and wise father. There he learns valuable lessons about truth, loyalty and, above all, honor.

The Last Samurai is a film about discovering what one truly believes in. In this mix of cultures, allegiances are tested and friendships are made. Cruise, as Algren, has the biggest task to convince the audience of his character's growth and development. The problem is Cruise's abundant talent (seen last in Minority Report ) is missing. We're forced to see him take a back seat to Watanabe's superb performance. Cruise shows no emotion during pivotal scenes, including a hopelessly unrealistic romantic relationship with Katsumoto's daughter, but lays it on too thick during others.

Cruise's work isn't completely terrible. During several important scenes, Algren is beaten down in a duel at the Samurai hideaway. He stands up with courage to be beaten down again and continues to stand until he no longer can. It's a scene where Cruise's talent comes through, even if it is one of only a few.

On the other hand, it's difficult for Cruise to keep his performance from being upstaged by Watanabe. Watanabe's Katsumoto struggles to maintain his dignity in the face of dogmatically dishonorable accusations are appropriately veiled in his rigid stature and unbending graciousness. We see Katsumoto as the ultimate in beleaguered characters who do everything in their power not to allow such disparagement break their spirits.

Director Edward Zwick (Courage Under Fire ) stacks his lackluster filmography alongside those of the film's writers (who he shares the screenplay credit with) John Logan (The Time Machine ) and Marshall Herskovitz (TV series Once and Again ). Together, they create a serviceable story that upholds the tenets of the Samurai tradition while limitedly matching the grandeur and scope of the films of Akira Kurosawa.

The Last Samurai shows us that we must search inside ourselves for truth. That which is told to us as children and ingrained into our culture does not necessarily support fact. Only through introspection can we gain the knowledge that will guide us on our own quest for faith, love and honor.

-Wesley Lovell (March 31, 2004)