For a thousand years, the samurai studied warfare in the Far East. Masters of the sword, the samurai trained themselves in martial arts to ensure the safety of the Emperor and Japan. Unfortunately, the Industrial Revolution's influence on combat, especially the advent of firearms, exposed the dated battle techniques of the Samurai and weakened Japan. The Last Samurai is therefore appropriately titled, since the film is set in the late 1800s, when the Samurai finally disappeared.
The Last Samurai is a romanticism of the samurai culture, which had controlled Japan since the 12th century. Director Edward Zwick begins in the United States with Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a war hero from both the Civil War and the Indian campaigns that followed. A drifter, Algren is haunted by terrible memories of war that are only manageable when he is drunk. With no real skills but for battle, the discouraged Captain is shipped to Japan by his commanding officer to ensure an American foothold in the Far East. His orders are to crush a revolt led by the remaining samurai in Japan, thereby forcing the Emperor to trade exclusively with the United States.
The first time Captain Algren fights the Samurai, his troops are slaughtered, in spite of their superior weapons. The samurai Lord Katsumoto even takes Algren prisoner, so that his people can learn about their enemy during the winter. Though he arrived as a prisoner of war, Captain Algren slowly gains the respect of his captors during the ensuing months before spring. Eventually, the Captain's battle wounds heal and he stops drinking all the time, finally becoming an honorary samurai himself. The new way of life completely consumes Algren, especially the ideals of honor and duty. When spring arrives, Algren chooses to embrace his new life by joining the revolt. Soon, battle lines are drawn and two armies are amassed. Howitzer cannons and state-of-the-art Gatling guns support thousands of American-trained, Japanese infantry against 500 loyal samurai armed only with swords and arrows. The odds are clearly stacked but the samurai make a monumental last stand that you simply must see.
Tom Cruise is brilliant. His acting is flawless, and Cruise might finally win an Academy award for his performance. The problem is that The Last Samurai is just too long (144 minutes). Zwick tries to squeeze in too many themes and ends up diluting the effect of each individual topic. For example, Zwick introduces a white Tiger as a symbol of a true warrior in the first twenty minutes of the film but neglects to tie it in to the rest of the movie. Honor seems to be a major theme but it's presented as a paradox: Captain Algren is seen as honorable for fighting to save the Japanese culture, yet he can only do so by dishonoring his own native culture. Algren's alcoholism is brought up as well, but only enough to seem awkward. A good movie keeps you wishing it will last a little longer but The Last Samurai goes overboard. Perhaps The Last Samurai should have been two movies so that Zwick could concentrate on fewer ideas.
A lack of originality also plagues The Last Samurai. The film has too many similarities to Dances With Wolves, a film where an American Soldier changes his allegiances in the middle of the Indian campaigns in the United States. The Last Samurai even makes many direct references to the Indian plight in the United States. The big difference between the plot of Dances With Wolves and The Last Samurai (besides the setting) is the ending, which incorporates battle scenes/tactics too similar to Braveheart for comfort.
Don't get me wrong. The Last Samurai is a good movie. Excellent acting, magnificent cinematography and painstaking attention to detail combine to make The Last Samurai one of the few movies worth seeing right now. However, small problems with the overall affect of the film will keep it off most top ten lists. I give The Last Samurai an 88 out of a possible 100.
