The Last Samurai - Review

The best and most unique way I can find to summarize The Last Samurai is this. Take the movies, Dances With Wolves, Braveheart, Pirates of the Caribbean and Kill Bill and place them in a blender. Mix them all together with a little splash of Tom Cruise and you have The Last Samurai. And I'm glad to say that it's a good tasting smoothie.

The story takes us back to the 1870s when Japan was quickly moving into the industrial age with plenty of western influence on their culture and government. The only thing standing in Japan's way is the Samurai. A group of people who are devoted to a sacred way of living based on discipline and honor. Japan's answer to the Samurai's rebellion comes in the form of Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) who is a former captain in the United States Army. They offer him a handsome paycheque in exchange for his training of the Japanese Imperial Army. However, during the first battle with the Samurai, Nathan is captured but kept alive because Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), the Samurai leader is intrigued by Nathan's level of courage and wants to learn the ways of his enemies. From there, Nathan starts to gain a new appreciation for life when he starts to become a part of the community and learn the ways of the Samurai.

Sound like Dances with Wolves yet? Yes, this movie's basic plot structure is very predictable and is a story we have seen many times before. But why does it work here? In my mind, it's because the story is told with such conviction and beauty.

Tom Cruise is one of, if not my favorite actor because no matter what role he is in, he is able to suck you in with his charisma and go along for whatever adventure he has in store for us. Now I am going, to be honest, at first, I had a hard time believing him in this role. Tom Cruise is almost too famous for his own good and the beginning of this movie shows us that. When we are introduced to his character, we see him as an alcoholic war vet who is traumatized by his past battles, but I would be lying if I said it was tough at first to get invested into his role because his voice is so recognizable, even with his long hair and beard he is rocking. There are a couple of moments throughout the movie where his performance briefly took me out of the story because there will be scenes with two characters speaking to each other in Japanese and suddenly you hear Tom Cruise's voice and think, "Wait, what are you doing here Tom?" His fame has made it difficult to believe him in a time period movie like this.

However, after about 20 minutes, as he does in every movie that he is in, really won me over. While there were a couple of slips here and there, he really did a great job portraying a war vet that has so much guilt built up in him that he really doesn't care if he lives or dies. And again with the action scenes, the dude brings it. Just the pure level of dedication he brings to each role is enough to go along for the ride.

But by far the best part of the movie is when Nathan is captured by Katsumoto and he learns the way of the Samurai. This is what makes this movie stand out from all the other 'Dances With Wolves' stories out there. Algren and Katsumoto may be enemies simply based on what side they are fighting for, but their shared experience makes them friends. We get a ton of great scenes between the two characters discussing their values and morals and it is one of the most genuinely convincing transformations from the main character I've seen in a while. After Nathan Algren was commanded to kill innocent Native Americans back home, he sees similarities between the Native Americans and the Samurai and empathizes with them and starts to see how they take pride and extreme dedication with everything they do which gives Nathan a sense of purpose, something he has not had in a long time.

Not only is it a genuine transformation on a character standpoint, it is also beautiful to see. This is a gorgeous looking movie and it gives us a sense into the ideals and the life of the Samurai. Seeing Nathan train with the other warriors in the village, learn the language of Japanese and their way of life forming bonds not only with Katsumoto but with the people of the village including children. This is what sets it apart from just another historical action movie, it takes its time with its characters and its philosophy that makes us invest in the story even more. And what is really nice to see is that this is isn't a story about how the white man comes to save the day, it is a story about a character finding purpose in life in the one area he never thought he would ever be in.

As for the action, it's great. It's pretty safe to assume that if a movie has Tom Cruise in it, and it is an action movie, it's going to be really well done. The sword battles and all-out war scenes are really well done. They capture that sense of beauty in terms of how it is shot, but they also capture that sense of brutality that adds realism and stakes to the movie. Add in Hans Zimmer's wonderful music to the mix and you have yourself one great movie.

If you are looking for an action-adventure epic with rich characters, a simple yet captivating story and a look into a majestic world full of philosophy, culture and the human spirit, then The Last Samurai is a good one to check out.