The Last Samurai

Action/Adventure — 154 min — Directed by Edward Zwick
Cast: Ken Watanabe, Tom Cruise, William Atherton, Billy Connolly

In Japan, Civil War veteran Captain Nathan Algren trains the Emperor’s troops to use modern weapons as they prepare to defeat the last of the country’s samurais. But Algren’s passion is swayed when he is captured by the samurai and learns about their traditions and code of honor.

Nicely done. It has some awesome combat scenes, and it's brutal. The setting is great, and it really preaches a bit too much for me. You knew how things would end up, almost scene by scene. I felt that it tried to make the captain into a hero, much like Mel in Braveheart. Made me wonder how it was received in Japan, with their honor and such. It's most definitely a kick in the balls to them. A wake up call. But as we know, medieval times are bygones, never to return, however much romanticized they are. Tom does and great job as usual, as does Watanabe. I really hated the US Army lieutenant - what a creep. It was nicely filmed, but not spectacular; I guess Kurosawa is still the master there. But as I said, I liked the gritty combat immensely!

Sadly though, no nudity. I'm joking of course. Or am I? Thank God we didn't have to endure Tom's butt, but alas, not even a boob in sight. It was great that they didn't inject a love story into it all. Well, they did kinda, but at least not in the regular sense, and cheers for that! It would have made it so sappy and forced. If you want a romantic movie, see another movie.

My Rating: 7 / 10