’The Last Samurai’ could well be to Japan what Braveheart was to Scotland. Both are big, blustering, battlefield epics, set within genuine historical events, but at the same time contorting that history almost beyond recognition in order to meet the demands of Hollywood. While both films make for some entertaining viewing, their self-imposed distance from their own origin tends to dilute their potential impact.
Despite the fact that the general storyline is a wee bit far fetched , it must be said that this is an extremely well put-together piece of work. The battle scenes - which use real action as opposed to CGI - are stupendous, and despite the lengthy running time the film is quickly-paced and at times genuinely exciting.
Cruise, meanwhile, produces a masterful performance, and it’s not difficult to see why his part in this one has earned him more than a few name-checks for the year’s big industry gongs. His character grows and develops as the movie progresses, changing from a cynical drunk (albeit a fairly unusual drunk, in that he keeps a journal) to a noble and broad-minded hero figure.
’The Last Samurai’ doesn’t offer anything particularly thought-provoking or original, but it’s classier than most of the over-computerized action movies we have to put up with nowadays, and is guaranteed to hold your interest. And judging by the title, there won’t be a sequel ? or at least we can hope..!!!
A truly watchable movie given the quality of our better publicised bollywood and kollywood movies.
Barus.