The Last Samurai (Review)

[Virtuous]

I saw there was a hype thread already but I felt a review deserved its own thread.

I was fortunate enough to be near a theater that was selected for a sneak preview. A friend called me up and told me there was a sneak preview tonight and if I wanted to go. I was a bit hesitant but I reluctantly agreed. Got tickets early, waited in line for an hour to get good seats with good friends (All with MA background).

So what do I have to say about this movie? It completely blew me away! This is a teriffic movie, a total master piece! I already have a spot reserved in my DVD collection for it! and I dont ever buy movies. The story is riveting, I dont believe it dosent adhere to any actual history, if it did it would be a documentary not a movie so take that into concideration. The fight scenes are not long, gratuitist, and boresome (cough Matrix2 cough). They are exciting, suspensful and serve an actual purpose. This film has sooo much depth it just absorbs you. Technical aspects of the kenjutsu and jujitsu are teriffic, nothing over glorified or flashy, just down to earth slicein and dicein. There are a few ettiquite things that were overlooked, it didnt deter me Im just nit picking First movie to ever bring a tear to my eye.

Do not deprive yourself by not seeing this movie, it is in my humble opinion an instant classic.

[47Ronin]

I will have to agree with you. Even when I saw the preview for it I felt a tilngle go down my spine just saying - This is gonna be bad ass dude!!!!

( BTW it is based on history but is still a movie;) )

[Virtuous]

yeah its teriffic, I cant say enough good thinga about it, out of me and my 6 friends who saw it, we give a solid 14 thumbs up.

[47Ronin]

Yeah Me and MY friends give it 15 thumbs up! (firecracker accident :D)

[DexterTCN]

Ever see a TV series called Shogun (written by James Clavell) ?

Tom Cruise hopes you haven't.

[Virtuous]

Yeah I have seen Shogun the miniseries. I much rather like to think of it as a 12 hour long movie. Yes I did see the parallel's drawn between the two, a gaijin slowly drawn into the Japanese culture. I would have to say I enjoyed this much more than Shogun.

[Adam]

Wow, this sounds like a great film. I'd go see it if it wasn't for that human stain on the carpet of professional acting, Tom Cruise.

[Cougar_v203]

wait its already out in your areas? it said it ain't coming out till tomorrow.

[xplasma]

there was a sneak preview during Thanksgiving week in the US

[PsiCop]

im going to see it tomarrow night with my girlfriend. Ill post a review when i get home.

[47Ronin]

Tomorrow baby!!!!!

[RubyMoon]

Originally posted by Adam
Wow, this sounds like a great film. I'd go see it if it wasn't for that human stain on the carpet of professional acting, Tom Cruise. Bite your tongue! :p

[juramentado]

Originally posted by Adam
Wow, this sounds like a great film. I'd go see it if it wasn't for that human stain on the carpet of professional acting, Tom Cruise.

same here. I know I'll enjoy this film but it's depressing to see Tom Cruise it in. That kinda ruins the film for me.

Let me guess...he is a gaijin who gets captured by the samurai and eventually learns their way of life and fights on their side in battle. (haven't see or read any spoilers)

Is it that predictable?

as one review called it "dances with ninja"

The martial artist in me says I will be grinning like an idiot throughout the film. But the film buff in me wishes someone else would be playing the lead role.

After messing up mission impossible, I've grown to hate Tom Cruise.

[47Ronin]

Holy CRAPE!!!! That movie was amazing. I even got sad watching it from the stuff that happened.

I GIVE THIS MOVIE THUMBS AND 2 TOES UP!!!!!!!!!

[Cougar_v203]

but now the problem is that you have a broken tailbone now :P

[47Ronin]

What are you talking about???

[xplasma]

That was the best movie I have seen this year. Very well done. I have zero complaints! They even did the Shinobi well without making them look cheesy or superhuman.

My review is only one word
"Wow!"

[Capt Ann]

Went with some friends, and we all really enjoyed it.
However, I recommend you DO NOT take younger teens to see it. Mass battle scenes are very graphic.



P.S. I'm taking a Haidong Gumdo (Korean sword arts) class - even much of the sword moves, defenses, and training are accurate.

[xplasma]

Originally posted by Capt Ann
P.S. I'm taking a Haidong Gumdo (Korean sword arts) class - even much of the sword moves, defenses, and training are accurate.

The sword work was more of a Batto-jutsu/ Iatto-jutsu/ Ken-jutsu. Japanese Kanata work, which is different then your Korean Sword. But you are correctly the Sword work and training was beautifully done.

[PsiCop]

I saw it and i give it 3 1/2 stars out of 4. It was wonderfully done in every aspect. The acting, fighting, mood, story, music... everything was awe inspiring. They had some really awesome fight scenes with a big battle at the end. They also had ninjas!

[Razor]

Great movie! I also have no complaints... The etiquette looked pretty accurate to me but I am no "expert"-

My fiance enjoyed it also, she did compare it to Dances with Wolves though :0

[Grifter]

Yea I saw it last night. Im with you Virtuous, I dont buy movies either But im definetly getting this one when it comes out. I expected it to be good, but I was surprised just how good it was. EVERYBODY should go to the theaters and watch it. And whats wrong with Tom Cruise?? I think hes a perfectly good actor. who would you have had them cast for the lead??

They said that they trained for 2 years on the sword techniques and other fighting skills.

[khafra]

It was great! I have heard it called "Dances With Ninja," yeah--but I was quite pleasantly surprised, Tom Cruise's Iaido forms looked better than mine, heh. Nice little bit on Mushin, and there's even a good excuse for using him--what other western actor is short enough to fit into samurai armor?
Plus, the samurai leaders' son was uber-bishounen!

[judojedi]

anyone know when its out in the uk? sounds like a 'must see' film.

[thekingster]

I know I am a relatively new poster...but I saw this movie tonight to give all the early birds time to roust the theater.

It was tremendous...after such "interesting" cinematic flops as Kill Bill and Matrix Revolutions - this movie will give you a reason to see movies on the big screen, once again.

Very graphic battle scenes - which satiated my taste for action quite well. I'll defer to the Japanese artists here as to reality -

Very artistic and a moving epoch tale. Cross-cultural cooperation and respect for differences at its finest.

Two thumbs up!

[Jay]

Seen it .. good film. Tom Cruise does a very good Tom Cruise in it :D
Definitely worth watching.

Jay

[MuayThaiGuy]

If you guys liked the movie than you HAVE to read James Clavell's Shogun. The Last Samurai's plot is just a pale imitation of Shogun, one of the most exquisitely written epics ever. Just set aside a lot of time, it's better than 1200 pages, and you'll immediately get sucked in! Check at used bookstores, they always have copies for cheap.

[RubyMoon]

Originally posted by MuayThaiGuy
If you guys liked the movie than you HAVE to read James Clavell's Shogun. Shogun was also made into an epic 10-hour miniseries in 1980 starring Richard Chamberlain.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000A2ZNX/qid=1071260139//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i0_xgl74/002-9837791-2680053?v=glance&s=dvd&n=507846

[Ad McG]

Originally posted by Adam Wow, this sounds like a great film. I'd go see it if it wasn't for that human stain on the carpet of professional acting, Tom Cruise.


What garbage. Tom Cruise is a good actor, and has some amazing films eg. Vanilla Sky (which he also produced, as he did Narc), Magnolia, Minority Report etc. I could go on. He has noticably grown as an actor and is maturing into someone I can get fairly excited about going to watch. Maybe he doesn't have an amazing range, but what he does he does very well.

Plus, he was in Top Gun :cool: haha. I think he would have been a good replacement for the god-awful wooden board that is Keanu Reaves, in the matrix series. Despite how much I did enjoy the matrix, I can't help but laugh at some of his pathetic acting moments.

[MuayThaiGuy]

Shogun was also made into an epic 10-hour miniseries in 1980 starring Richard Chamberla
I haven't seen the miniseries, but I've heard from people who have that it's nothing compared to the book.

[Virtuous]

The mini series is okay, drove me crazy to watch 'samurai' run around with their katana and wakazashi ha (edge) down in their obi.

[mushim78]

I must admite, I saw the trailer for the movie when I went to watch Matrix Reloaded, and I though it was gonna be really interesting until I saw it had Tom Cruise in it. Not a fan! and I thought it was gonna be another flop (like the one I was watching that night) :rolleyes: . Well, the dojang I go to decided to go in a "fieldtrip" and we all went to watch it... IT BLEW ME AWAY!!!! Even after all the Jay Leno's, Letterman's, Oprah's, Ellen's interviews, I thought they gave the whole movie away, but no! The fight scenes were so quick and bloody, like the real samurai -one draw, one kill- even when he didn't have the sword on him. I recall Leno saying that this was not a Martial Arts Movie, I have to say this is one of the most true to the tradition of martial Arts I have ever seen made in America. And The MUSHIM part...superb! they show how he relaxes and applies no mind! :Alien: Sword techniques are great, I practice Hapkido and all the techniques we apply are based in the sword and I could not stop identifying techniques!!! :D I don't care if Tom Cruise is in it, but this movie give us MAist the respect back from that horrible experience called XMA (Discovery) :mad:
Tear dropper: Samurai's harakiri, not the act but when everybody bows in solemn respect and sorrow, it showed how much he was valued and appeciated, the death of one of the most representatives traditions of their culture, it was very powerfull. :Angel:
OK, there were a couple of erros, like the right hand going first when bowing, and some swords turned upside down, but besides that....UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
I smell Oscar, for best picture that is!!! :love:



PS: I loved when the Shogun peeded on Richard Chamberlain, Shogun ruled!!!!, I have the book...

[wayofthedragon]

The last samurai.......:eek: I just have to see that movie:eek:

[middleman]

Very well done!!! Didn't care much for Cruise before the I saw the movie, but, he did a great job!
I saw Honor, dis-Honor, and deceipt.
I don't think ALL the people on the dis-Honorable 'side' were necessarily dis-Honorable, but, deceived.
The Native Americans got screwed, then the Samurai.
Unfortunatly, a common happening in our world.
We must remember, "What you are speaks so loud, I can't hear what you say."
People, like the White Rose group, tried to stop Hitler, but most wouldn't listen!

[aikiMac]

Finally saw it.
Wow.
That wasn't acting. That was beyond acting. Cruise wasn't acting. That wasn't Tom Cruise playing Nathan Algren. That was Nathan Algren playing Nathan Algren.

Wow. I don't think I've ever seen a better performance than that, ever.

But I was a bit disappointed with the script. Samurai were all-good, and the emporer's Council was all-bad. Huh? Couldn't we have had some good Council and some bad samurai? What's with such a one-sided movie?

But all in all ... wow. Good movie.

I loved the night alley fight. Sweet choreography.

[Virtuous]

[quote]I loved the night alley fight. Sweet choreography.[/quote[

Yeah that was one of my favorite parts. Right after I was thinking man that looked so awesome but it was so fast furious, I wish they had done it in slow motion. Then he started to recall the whole fight and it WAS in slow motion, I was in heaven.

Didnt you want to cry when you first saw the shinobi? I was thinking "great, they just ruined a perfectly good movie with the 'mystical ninja'." But it turned out to be just spectacular, no mystesism at all, just good ol assassinatin. :)

[middleman]

I too will miss their conversations!

[Cain]

I just saw the trailer, would have been great if they get rid of tom cruise, the guy just does'nt fit!

|Cain|

[Anth]

sounds like a canny good movie. pitty we brits have to wait until Friday 9th January for it to come out over here...

[Skinneh]

I liked it :D Go watch it if you havnt !

[Pacificshore]

Ok,

I waited for the last showing on the last day at my theatre. Although I had my reservations with Tom Cruise as the lead, I truely enjoyed the movie. It is a must have in my DVD collection.

[Archibald]

I thought this movie was fantastic (it only came out on thursday here). The best part....not one stupid wire stunt!!

Hehe

ciao

[Qis]

terribly disspointed in this film.
Was like a mash between braveheart and dances with wolves.

wish i hadn't seen it because i was looking forward to it so much.

the ninja's were cool tho!

-Qis

[aikiwolfie]

The Last Samurai, kewl beans. The fight in the alley was so kewl and in slow motion too. Oh and then there's the bit where he cuts right though the gun and into the guys face. Waste of a good sword at the end though.

[EricSan]

Well said and HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY agreed!

[juramentado]

I saw it a few days ago and here's my 2 cents:

The movie has great MA choreography and the cinematography was first rate. Overall the film was very well done and the attention to detail is superb.

Ken Watanabe is fantastic in this film. As the leader of the samurai, he had the right looks and bearing.

now for the minuses...

a) the plot was very predictable. It was "dances with ninjas". Tired plot dragged on very familiar ground.

b) Algren practices for an whole winter and becomes as good as samurai who have spent their whole lives training?

c) the ending was pure Hollywood. It could have been wrapped up 3 to 5 minutes shorter (to those who have seen the film, I think you know what I mean). Instead of ending it as it should have been, as the entire premise of the film is anchored on, the director just had to squeeze in that tacky hollywood ending and give Tom Cruise that last heroic pose. For me, that ending was what ruined what could have been a very good film.

overall, it was a great attempt at doing a Kurosawa but being a Hollywood film, it's still troubled by simplistic plotlines and fairy tale endings.

I give it 4 stars out of a possible 5

[Anth]

just seen it and all i can say is: what a wicked movie!

anyone know when its out on dvd?