| Review: It was better than I expected, and I expected a lot. We're rarely surprised where the film heads, if you've seen the preview, you pretty much know the direction of the film, and yet it manages to avoid most of the Hollywood clich�s and throw us a few surprises. 3 nitpicks, which I will get out of the way here and now: One reviewer complained that it was unbelievable that Tom Cruise would get good with a sword in that short amount of time. I half agree, because he uses two swords you see, and anyone who knows anything at all about swords knows using two is extremely difficult. If he had stuck with the one, I could have believed that, because he puts up a very good fight near the beginning of the film with a spear, so we can assume he has some aptitude. There is a part where Tom throws his sword and it lodges in someone's throat. While my brother says this is natural, because swords are aerodynamic, and have an asshole-seeking ability built in, I found it pretty Hollywood-ish and campy. This is the only moment like this luckily. A lot was made about the end of the film, but I look at it this way. It was a bit of a surprise ending, and it wasn't patronizing. Although I did take issue with the part concerning the Emperor, which I didn't think was either in keeping with the character, or history. Now that that is out of the way, lets talk about the MANY good things there are about this film. Shot in New Zealand, the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful, and does pass for Japan quite well. If there is any CG in the movie, it is in a brief presentation of an American and Japanese city, and these shots do not linger, nor are they unbelievable. The battles are well done, and as I said, none of that CG shit...this is the way they USED to make films, and the battles are classic, Cruise does his own stunts here as well. Very stirring soundtrack, and like Braveheart, it has its main theme that gets you in all the right places, although the rest are atmospheric. The movie doesn't suffer from self importance, which is something I was a bit worried about, and it has some surprisingly intentionally humorous moments in all the right places. Good acting all round, and while I found the ending with the Emperor off kilter, he was portrayed believably otherwise. Tom's character is interesting as a suicidal drunk who's seen too much on the battlefield and comes to find empathy and a place of his own in life. Much was made about the village accepting Tom and its believability, but this is oversimplifying...Tom is not readily accepted, in fact he has to gradually earn their respect, whereas Tom begins to respect his captors/hosts far more quickly. I'll cut the analysis short here, and just say everyone is good here. Points are made and taken with a minimum of self importance, and they actually make sense (ahem, Matrix sequels, ahem, cough). Scenery is gorgeous, story is formulated, but done well, just all around good movie, and the ending is not patronizing, aside from the part with the Emperor. Very little to nitpick about, I give it an A-. Not a classic, but as close as we're ever going to get to one in this day and age, you don't see many movies done in this style anymore. If you have even the slightest interest in anything Japanese, go see it. Besides, everybody loves to see Meiji government pigs get cut down by Samurai, nobody liked them, heh. And rightly so if you consider that perhaps without them, farther down the line we may not have had Pearl Harbor. I can appreciate the message the movie had. There are plenty of Americans who try to become Japanese in their own ways, for various reasons, when the fact of the matter is, you can never truly become Japanese, no more than I can ever truly become Chinese. I don't believe anyone who's first generation can ever really integrate with their new country, no matter where they're from, or where they've come to live. And yet, there is such a thing as respect for other cultures, realizing our way isn't necessarily best, and meeting them halfway in the middle. Don't hate who you are, though realize you're a great deal short of perfection, and don't fall blindly in love with who someone else is, or completely discount them. Always look with open eyes, and see both the good and bad in all. |
 |
| Review by Magus |
| Rating: ***1/2 |