Grade: B
Dazed Civil War veteran Captain Nathan Algren moves to Japan to train the Emperor's troops to use modern weapons as they prepare to defeat the last of the country's samurais. But Algren's loyalties (and his life) is swayed when he is captured by the samurai and learns about their traditions and code of honor. The Last Samurai is a beautiful film that showcases the virtues of loyalty and honor, while still providing top notch action. But Entertainment Weekly said is best, when classifying the film’s only glaring flaw: “This is Tom Cruise playing Tom Cruise playing a Civil War soldier.” This isn’t to say that Tom Cruise’s performance is terrible, as he is adequate. The problem is, when you are as huge a star as Tom Cruise is, and you are playing a part which requires you to seemingly meld before the audience’s eyes into that role, adequate isn’t good enough. Plain and simple, this part isn’t made for Tom Cruise. The same can’t be said for the supporting cast, in particular Ken Watanabe, who deftly plays the leader of the samurai. Watanabe’s performance is the one that sticks with you, long after you have left the theatre. No matter how you slice it, The Last Samurai is a good movie, which deserves to be seen simply because of the great supporting cast, direction, and script.
...or that's what I thought a few days ago. I've changed my mind on The Last Samurai. (What do you want? I'm a wishy-washy teenager for Christ's sake!) Even now, a good month (I saw it early) after I have seen the film, many of the aspects of the movie still ring true in my head, and I have come to realize that this couldn't be possible without Tom Cruise. I have been unfair to Cruise in my first draft of this review. While I still believe that Cruise is slightly mis-cast (Mel Gibson would have been a stronger choice), he delivers a great performance that helps the film, not hinders it. Tom Cruise is in nearly every scene of The Last Samurai, and without him giving a great performance, the fantastic script and direction (which I praised in the first draft) would never have been seen as clearly as it is and was. This is certainly one of the best movies of the year, and Tom Cruise helps make it so.
The REAL Grade: A
© 2003 Jacob Sproul
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