The Last Samurai

1 Pages 363 Words

So…Tom Cruise blew our minds in Vanilla Sky, but can he do it again wearing a kimono?


“The Last Samurai” was one of the most accurate films depicting the ancient traditions of Japanese Samurai. It was astonishing to see such a film finally shown in English that was not poorly dubbed.
Director Edward D. Zwick, who is better known for his past films “Legends of the Fall” and “Glory” just added another hit historical film to his resume. The actors in this film were so thorough, that many people stated that they felt an inner connection with them and their ongoing battles.
The film begins by introducing us into the world of Nathan Algren, a Civil War hero, played by Tom Cruise (Minority Report, Mission Impossible II). Through his title, he finds work in Japan teaching non-Samurai how to fight effectively in war against their Samurai counterparts. Algren is then captured by Katsumoto, a Samurai, played by Ken Watanabe and learns about their many traditions and beliefs. Algren’s past is disruptive, showing the viewers images of battles and murders against Native Americans. Unfortunately Algren tries to mask his pain with alcohol and is a drunk for part of the movie.
What’s miraculous about this film is that it precisely portrays the lifestyle of his captors, the Samurai more so than any other film. I also believe that many of the actors involved felt a kinship to the subject, due to their Japanese heritage. It was also interesting to hear how close Cruise is to the film learning Japanese, lowering his multi-million salary to keep budgets low and turning down a part in Anthony Minghella’s “Cold Mountain,” to name a few things.
That said, there is no way that this film will be relying on Cruise’s star power to give it high ratings, it was well presented through and through and all actors deserve recognition for a job well done!
In my personal opinion, I would have to say that Mr. Zwick has just made up f...