I just want to be upfront on the following.

I still haven't forgiven Tom for what he did to Nicole. To dump your wife through a divorce petition is pretty sleazy. What's even sleazier is to abandon her while she's pregnant with your child and then try to say that the marriage was only enforce for 9 years 11 months so that you could skirt the 10 year California rule on split of assets.

It's sleazy.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's talk about my strong like for Tom Cruise, the actor. I've always had a soft spot for the lovable creature that he is and by the time he made Top Gun, I was swearing my undying devotion to him. I don't think that he's a particularly gifted actor however, like Britney Spears, he is the consummate entertainer. I doubt that he'll ever win an Oscar for Best Actor. Why? In the end, I think that his looks are what sabotage him. The best thing that could happen to him is an industrial accident.

What does this have to do with The Last Samurai? I'll get to that in a moment. Let's review the story, shall we?

It's 1876. The movie opens up with Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) sabotaging his own employment opportunities by funneling his anger and regret into a bottle of alcohol and an attitude of rebellion.

What's he so upset about? As a captain, he spent time fighting those savages and along the way, he massacred innocent women and children. That's enough to make any man with a conscious, drink.

The Japanese government, recognizing his keen ability to get the job done, hires him to train their troops in the modern ways of war. Who is the enemy? Their own people, specifically those who do not wish to see the modern ways take over their world. That effort is driven by the samurai’s and their honorable leader, Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe).

Algren, for the right price, takes the job on.

The Japanese peasants, who make up most of the emperor's army, are ill-prepared for any type of battle. Unfortunately, the government doesn't want to hear that and despite Algren's proof, they send a group in to hold the samurai’s back from disturbing a railroad.

After the samurai’s kill most of the soldiers (the others have ran), Algren is left to fight them off. Katsumoto, impressed and fascinated with the American, spares his life and takes him in as a prisoner.

Algren is housed with the family of the samurai that he killed in battle. During the process, he detoxes, and learns to appreciate life for what it is.

Did you think I just gave the entire movie away? Well relax, I didn't.

So back to this whole thing with Tom. What does his appearance have to do with The Last Samurai? I felt like the entire time I was watching this movie, that Tom was miscast and had someone else been thrown into this role (Edward Norton? Hugh Jackman?), I might have walked away liking it better. He was just too pretty for the role. Even the hap-hazard beard and scruff couldn't hide his pretty-boy face and that my friends, was distracting. In addition, I felt like his acting were pretty stiff. It's like he was aiming to be "technically" precise in everything that he did and that in turn seemed to stifle any of his emotional connections with other characters.

The true gem of the film, acting wise, was Ken Watanbe. He had a screen presence that I haven't seen in a long time. His charisma (magnetic, charming, forceful, and mysterious) is what pushed me to recommend this movie and I really wish that the entire story would have focused around him and not Tom. In fact, you could have left Tom out of this and it would have been a better picture. But of course, Tom is the box office pull SO you gotta take the good with the bad.

Now let's move on to two of my (normally) favorite producers/writers/directors in the world - Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. I fell deeply in like with them when they were at the helm of Thirtysomething. I felt cheated that there was a lack of emotional bonding between the characters. I mean, there was some between Algren and Katsumoto (but not nearly enough) and virtually nothing but superficial ties with the rest of the characters. Although I'm thrilled that they didn't have Tom doin' everybody, I felt a little cheated about his interactions with the opposite sex.

This movie was too long (I had to pee) and very predictable in parts (I rolled my eyes). In addition, for a movie that didn't have enough emotional bonding, it relied a lot on melodrama to manipulate the audience. See important death scenes for more details. The editing together of the scenes was pretty good with the exception of the first 8-10 minutes. The scenes introducing Tom's character felt very disjointed.

The technical aspects of the movie - from the cinematography to the battle scenes - were amazing. The fight/training scenes looked real and felt real. The choreography was over the top fantastic. I was duly impressed. The battle scenes seemed more like art than war - almost to the point of glamorization. Girls, if you strongly dislike blood and guts please know that while there is lots of blood shed, most of the scenes were not horribly gross. I only closed my eyes twice that I can remember.

As far as the story goes, I can't vouch to any of the historical accuracies of it so if you are one of those sticklers for factual accounts, you might want to do your research before you go.

I feel a little strange giving this movie such low marks considering that it had a some of the best technical stuff I've seen in a long time, a strong score, and Ken Watanabe however, if the studios want to pull in a wider audience than just battle buffs, they need to look beyond the technical perfections and evaluate the emotional aspects of the film.

To recap:
* Movie was TOO long. I had to pee but waited.
* Tom is too pretty for this kind of role.
* Ken Watanabe is a force to be reckoned with.
* Boys will like this more than girls.


Recommended: Yes