The Last Samurai (2003)

• 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 pushestowards industrialization, an American marksman is sent to teach theEmperor's men how to fight. In the end, the lesson will come from a manwho will be known as The Last Samurai.

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

When his battalion isrushed into an engagement with the country's Samurai rebels, Algren iscaptured. Taken back to their mountain refuge, Algren meets theirleader 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 afilm about discovering what one truly believes in. In this mix ofcultures, allegiances are tested and friendships are made. Cruise, asAlgren, has the biggest task to convince the audience of hischaracter's growth and development. The problem is Cruise's abundanttalent (seen last in Minority Report ) is missing. We're forced to seehim take a back seat to Watanabe's superb performance. Cruise shows noemotion during pivotal scenes, including a hopelessly unrealisticromantic relationship with Katsumoto's daughter, but lays it on toothick during others.

Cruise's work isn'tcompletely terrible. During several important scenes, Algren is beatendown in a duel at the Samurai hideaway. He stands up with courage to bebeaten down again and continues to stand until he no longer can. It's ascene where Cruise's talent comes through, even if it is one of only afew.

On the other hand, it'sdifficult for Cruise to keep his performance from being upstaged byWatanabe. Watanabe's Katsumoto struggles to maintain his dignity in theface of dogmatically dishonorable accusations are appropriately veiledin his rigid stature and unbending graciousness. We see Katsumoto asthe ultimate in beleaguered characters who do everything in their powernot to allow such disparagement break their spirits.

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

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

-Wesley Lovell (March 31, 2004)