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| Monday, December 1st
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| Movie Forums :: Reviews :: Dueling with The Last Samurai |
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Posted on 12/14/03
Dueling with The Last Samurai
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A vision of a white tiger battling Samurai, and winning. Eyes open and we meet one of the two principal characters of The Last Samurai, Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), the leader of a fugitive Samurai army. The other, a survivor of numerous battles, Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is considered to be a great American warrior. He is also a soldier that is haunted by war and the brutal truth of how senseless it can be.
Captain Algren is hired to train the new western style Japanese Army, who will be responsible to crush the rebellious Samurai's. Algren, who is hardened by numerous battles and numbed by many bottles, agrees to kill whomever anyone wants, as long as he is commanded to, and paid for it. Thus begins the sweeping saga of a man who has lost his honor and the path that he follows to reclaim it.
The Last Samurai wants to mean something. It wants to give us a message that cannot be mistaken, but I couldn't tell what that message was. At times, it seemed that it wanted to prove that western idealism is the root cause behind the death of a nation's heredity. Sometimes it seemed that its point was that technological warfare made war less honorable. Yet, there also seemed to be a message that to die for tradition is to die honorably, regardless whether the tradition is right or wrong.
The Last Samurai is Dances With Wolves without the greatness. Exchange native Americans with Samurai, add evil American pigs with one valiant American dissenter, throw in a man who is the enemy and then becomes the best friend, and a pinch of love interest between the ex-pig and a lovely native, and you've got the recipe right. I couldn't see any real originality that made it its own movie. I was distracted with how obvious their similarities are and that took much of the enjoyment away for me.
There are also many implausibilities within the story. How a man could train to become a Samurai in such a short amount of time is remarkable, the battle sequences, although beautifully choreographed, are ridiculous in their presentations, and the ending is so egotistical it is pathetic. Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe both do well with their characters yet neither are particularly noteworthy. I've always liked Cruise just fine, but I really don't consider him to be one of the greats. His so-called powerful performances have never effected me, but they have seemed believable enough.
I can easily see this movie being a heavyweight when it comes to Oscar time, though that has never really impressed me either. I stood outside the theater after the movie was over and I listened to what everybody was saying about what they just saw. The popular consensus was that it was a brilliant movie that was one of the best of its kind ever made. I just can't see it. I'd rather watch my Dances With Wolves DVD. After all, it is the same story.
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