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It’s
been quite a while since I was especially thrilled by a Tom Cruise movie, so I was a bit
skeptical about this powerful epic—despite the fact that it has the awards committees abuzz. Still,
curiosity got the best of me…
In The Last Samurai, Cruise plays
Captain Nathan Algren, a soldier well known for his fearlessness in battle against the
Native Americans. Algren is offered a job in Japan, training the Japanese army to fight
against the samurai army that threatens the country’s modernization. When he leads his
unprepared soldiers into battle, Algren is captured and taken in by the family of samurai
leader Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) who’s eager to learn from his enemy.
Tired
of always fighting against the rebels—and haunted by memories of his battles against
innocent Native Americans—Algren is drawn to the samurai life, and he begins to learn the
language and embrace the culture.
I’ll admit that I was surprised to be
captivated by The Last Samurai, but it was beautifully done. It’s long (just over
two and a half hours), and it’s not exactly fast-paced (except for the battle scenes),
but I was almost immediately drawn in—and it managed to hold my attention until the end. The story
is powerful yet touching—and it has a spectacular score to match.
Ken Watanabe definitely
deserved all those award nominations for his performance as Katsumoto. And even Tom Cruise, who I’ve always seen as a bit of an
over-actor, does a respectable job. In fact, I believe the movie would have gotten much
more attention, had it not been overshadowed by The Return of the
King.
It may be long, but The Last Samurai is well worth the time commitment.
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