“The Last Samurai” (Warner Brothers)
Have you noticed that all of Tom Cruise’s movies are no longer just good little movies – they are now events! From “Mission Impossible” to “Eyes Wide Shut” to “Minority Report,” all of these movies are BIG! And now comes “The Last Samurai” which is truly an epic movie. The problem is that Cruise gets overwhelmed by the content, and the movie itself sputters to a weak finish.
In the film Nathan Algren (Cruise) is a burned out military man. He has served in the Civil War and has fought in the Indian Wars. Now he is a bruised and embittered man, searching for some meaning in his life. Where he has found it is in the bottom of a bottle.
Out of the blue he is offered a position in Japan as military adviser to the Emperor. He goes to that country to help train the militia to do combat against some of the Samurai warriors in that country. In the first battle against the Samurai, Algren is captured and taken back to their village.
While in captivity Algren gets to know the warrior leader Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). He is impressed by his military skills and his admirable character. Eventually he begins to emulate the Samurai and to learn their ways and their skills. He also finds himself attracted to Taka (Koyuki), a Samurai widow.
This entire story takes some two and a half hours to tell. Some of it is interesting; some of it is not. Cruise never is anyone other than Tom Cruise and this hurts his depiction of Algren as a flawed man.
Watanabe is impressive as the Samurai warrior and holds his own against Cruise’s star power. If there is a standout performance in the film it is Watanabe’s. He manages to convey the total essence of his character even though he is not fluent in English.
It is also amazing how sensual Cruise’s scenes with Koyuki are. He and she have more screen chemistry together than he and Nicole ever thought about having. In this film less seen means more expressed. There is only one brief kiss but the passion these two characters feel is palpable.
The battle sequences in the movie are wonderfully staged. They are massive in scope and amazing in delivery. Maybe its computers and maybe it isn’t, but there truly seems to be a cast of thousands who go into battle.
The movie is rated R for violence and profanity.
“The Last Samurai” is the kind of movie that you enjoy while you are watching it, but you certainly wouldn’t want to sit through it again. If you did you would just want to fast forward to the battle sequences and leave off the sappy ending altogether.
Tom Cruise is a presence on the screen but in this film he is a “Tom Cruise presence.” He never becomes Algren and the movie never becomes great. It has its moments but this epic peaks before it ends.
I scored “The Last Samurai” a fall on your sword 6 out of 10.
