Director: Ed Zwick.
Cast: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly

When we first are introduced to Nathan Algren, he is slumped in a chair in a darkened room taking swigs from a flask of whiskey. We know immediately that he is a good man tortured by a dark past who will be redeemed and find peace by the end of the movie. We also know that director Ed Zwick isn’t going to give us anything very fresh or original. In a bid to reach the widest possible audience, Zwick has opted to tell this epic story through conventions already established in blockbusters like Dances With Wolves and Braveheart. It’s a testament to the underlying power of the story that the movie still works fairly well, but it’s also quite a missed opportunity to do something much grander.

The Last Samurai focuses on Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) who is a suicidal alchoholic former Civil War hero hired by the Japanese government to train their army. The film is sketchy about the historic details, but there is essentially a Samurai rebellion occurring in Japan. There is a movement in the government to Westernize Japan and the Samurai represent those that hold to traditional Japanese beliefs. When Algren’s troops are sent to battle prematurely, they are slaughtered and he is captured. He is taken captive by Katsumoto, leader of the Samurai rebellion. While in captivity, Algren falls in love with the samurai culture and ends up finding the redemption and spiritual healing we knew he would. When all the ***censored*** hits the fan, Algren, no nobody’s surprise decides to fight on the side of the samurai.

The movie is built with reliable elements that have proven themselves to be Hollywood gold. Tom Cruise delivers a perfect Tom Cruise performance. Zwick keeps the action moving at an effective pace and doesn’t introduce enough actual history to complicate things. The cinematography by John Toll is exquisitely beautiful and the Hans Zimmer soundtrack proudly proclaims that “this movie is an epic.”

Aside from the sheer beauty of the film, the real standout is Ken Watanabe as Katsumoto, leader of the Samurai. Watanabe’s screen presence is so powerful that it is almost enough to fill the void left by the weak script and direction. This guy looks like he was born to star in Akira Kurosawa movies but was unfortunately just born too late. Watanabe believably brings Katsumoto to life as a fully fleshed out character, not just a bad-***censored*** warrior. He is, no doubt about it, a bad-***censored***, but he makes you BELIEVE in bushido. He radiates it. It may be the strength and fragility he brings to this role that keeps the whole movie from folding like a deck of cards. 

The Last Samurai wants to have the best of both worlds. It wants to be a big important epic, but it doesn’t want to ask the hard questions or delve very deep into the heart of the characters. It also wants to be a big dumb action film, but it wants to have a serious and important message.

Ultimately, The Last Samurai is a politically correct action movie for privileged white guys. The irony is that the guys who love movies like this and Braveheart are the same guys who are gung-ho about blasting the ***censored*** out of “primitive” civilizations in the middle east. It’s a self-important movie with some great action sequences and a star-making performance by Ken Watanabe. For true cinephiles, it will probably serve as a reminder that it’s time to dust off your Akira Kurosawa movies and watch Ran or The Seven Samurai once again.

Review by Christopher Sharpe.