The Last Samurai

Review by Clint Morris

It’s kind of disillusioning that we’ve grown accustomed to judging movies by which "A lister" is headlining it.

It probably comes down to the fact that a lot of the big stars – although possibly great once – are now making the same kind of fodder, one after another.

The Kevin Costner movie is evident a mile off with it’s sweeping cinematography and preposterous running time, the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie is recognisable thanks to the armaments and the celluloid packs, whilst a Tom Hanks movie is (funny how things changed, doesn’t anyone remember Joe Versus the Volcano?) assured a ‘must see’.

Tom Cruise flicks falls somewhere between a ‘must see’, meek curiosity and ‘Oh god, Tom Cruise’.

And, first impressions of Tom Cruise on the daybills for his latest film wielding a giant Samurai sword with shaggy hair and beard, complete with oversized battle armour is sure to meet with some apprehension and nervous giggling.

After all, this is the same guy who feared bedding Rebecca De Mornay – despite her being readier than an overzapped microwave dinner – in Risky Business, how could he possibly have us believe he is this unstoppable war machine whom no one would dare cross?

With his trademark charm and undeniable acting ability – that’s how.

In The Last Samurai, Cruise plays Capt. Nathan Algren, a former United States Calvary soldier, still battling demons of wars past. When he’s offered a job – by the Emperor of Japan – to train the country’s army, he casually accepts.

It isn’t long before the Samurai take the good Captain hostage, but instead of constantly trying to escape their clutches and destroy his captors, Algren grows fonder and fonder of the people who are supposed to be his enemy and, in turn, becomes an unlikely ally.

Cruise has always been seen as more of a ‘movie star’ than an actor and that hasn’t worked well in his favour.

And whilst it’s true he has swam in the waters of rubbish a couple of times (Vanilla Sky” still gives some nightmares), in recent years he’s more than earned his Hollywood stripes as someone who gives each movie his all.

From his Academy Award winning turn in Born on the Fourth of July to the stellar supporting turn of Magnolia, and more recently, the exciting science-fiction thriller Minority Report, Cruise has proved not only his versatility in the cut-throat movie-making world, but that there’s a lot more to him than Maverick, Joel Goodson or even, Ron Kovic.

In The Last Samurai, Cruise puts on the cloak of a Samurai and we swallow it. For all of the film’s two hour plus running time we see nothing but a deadly, accomplished war assassin.

Sure, in typical Cruise fashion, his teeth aren’t nearly as dirty as the rags on his body, nor does he shy away from the camera when it’s time to show off his new muscular bod – but for what it’s worth, he owns the movie. This could be Cruise’s big one – dare I say, Oscar moment?

Cruise isn’t alone though: co-star Ken Watanabe shines in his role as captor-turned-friend Katsumoto, and New Zealand – as in the country – doesn’t do a bad job of playing host.

In fact – and like the recent Lord of the Rings trilogy – the countryside looks just beautiful. Granted, some scenes were filmed in Japan, but we’ve money riding on the belief that those grand battle sequences were shot in Middle Earth.

The screenplay by John Logan [Gladiator] and the Direction of Ed Zwick [Glory] also adds to create a very moving, magnificent, not to mention action-packed (the battle scenes are awe inspiring) moment in cinema.

The first great film of the new year is Braveheart and Kill Bill combined, only better than both those movies, and if the film hadn’t have ended as 'Hollywood' as it did, The Last Samurai might even have earned a nod as one of the most pragmatic, rousing war films of all time.

Still, it’s close enough – and one more point to Thomas Cruise Mapother IV.

4.5 out of 5

The Last Samurai
Australian release: Thursday January 15th
Cast: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Timothy Spall, Tony Goldwyn, Billy Connolly, Hiroyuki Sanada.
Director: Edward Zwick.
Website: Click here.