As Civil War vet, Cruise is the star of this sword play
Tom Cruise wears many outfits in The Last Samurai. There's his blue Union Army captain's costume, circa 1876. There's his rugged, deerskin civilian coat, a natty leather shoulder holster strapped on his chest beneath. And then, when Cruise's Nathan Algren - a decorated Civil War veteran turned military adviser to the court of Japan - gets captured by the enemy of the emperor, Cruise and the costume department have a field day. There are puffy pants with wide sashes, the mail and mesh of samurai A splendid-looking historical epic directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends of the Fall) that tells the tale of a hard-bitten, hard-drinking soldier's reawakening as he learns the ancient ways of the ancient warrior, The Last Samurai is full of rousing, bloody battle scenes and bustling, CGI-enhanced streetscapes of Meiji-era Tokyo. Shot in Japan, New Zealand (Middle Earth subbing as samurai country) and on the Burbank backlot, the picture is a testament to Hollywood's eye (and wallet) for perio
Tom Cruise wears many outfits in The Last Samurai. There's his blue Union Army captain's costume, circa 1876. There's his rugged, deerskin civilian coat, a natty leather shoulder holster strapped on his chest beneath. And then, when Cruise's Nathan Algren - a decorated Civil War veteran turned military adviser to the court of Japan - gets captured by the enemy of the emperor, Cruise and the costume department have a field day. There are puffy pants with wide sashes, the mail and mesh of samurai armor . . . hey, he even wears a kimono!
A splendid-looking historical epic directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends of the Fall) that tells the tale of a hard-bitten, hard-drinking soldier's reawakening as he learns the ancient ways of the ancient warrior, The Last Samurai is full of rousing, bloody battle scenes and bustling, CGI-enhanced streetscapes of Meiji-era Tokyo. Shot in Japan, New Zealand (Middle Earth subbing as samurai country) and on the Burbank backlot, the picture is a testament to Hollywood's eye (and wallet) for period detail. From the impeccable patterned linens of the imperial court to the twigs and sticks on the roofs of a hill country village, everything is picture perfect.
Everything, that is, save the mix of old-fashioned cliches and stereotypes that pass for characterization and plot. Warning sign No. 1: an opening scene voice-over narration from, um, could that be Sean Connery? (No, it's fellow UK-er, and Last Samurai cast member, Timothy Spall.) Warning sign No. 2: more voice-over, this time "journal entries" from leading man Cruise himself.
But it's not just Hollywood convention that gets in the way of the story, it's the lack of depth, heft and heart at its core: Cruise sits astride a jumpy steed with manly aplomb; he wields a hand-wrought sword with deftness; he shoots, he grimaces, he scowls.
Yet, even with a scruffy beard and windswept locks, there's an eternal boyishness about the actor - or callowness. As he struggles with a set of chopsticks and a bowl of rice in the modest home of the woman whose husband he has killed in battle (now there's the makings of a complicated relationship!), Cruise's Algren jokes with the kids, learns a few lines of Japanese, and beams that famous Cruise beam. But there's no soul there, just toothy charm.
Inspired by the films of Kurosawa, Zwick (who collaborated on the script with Marshall Herskovitz and John Logan) captures a degree of the nobility and the spiritual trappings of the samurai. Ken Watanabe brings dignity and more to the role of Katsumoto, the last leader of the venerated knighthood, and Hiroyuki Sanada, whose Ujio first disdains the crude American soldier and then learns to respect his courage and stick-to-itiveness, is likewise focused and forceful. The elegant Japanese model-actress Koyuki plays the widowed and seriously reluctant hostess who throws many a glancing stare - first of contempt, and then of respect, and then, of course, of love.
On the western side of the equation, Spall, as a roly-poly reporter documenting the seismic societal shifts in 1870s Japan, functions as the audience's filter; Scotsman Billy Connolly plays Zebulon Gant (now there's a name!), Aldren's right-hand man, and Tony Goldwyn is the U.S. Army colonel who doesn't like Algren, and vice versa.
The Last Samurai has its moments of magnificence, where the sheer scope of a scene, or the elaborate stratagems of a climactic battle, overcome the thumbnail portraiture and Algren's own awestruck observations.
To wit: "They are an intriguing people," he writes about the intriguing people that he finds himself among. And: "What does it mean to be samurai?"
Well, there are those spiffy kimonos.
Contact movie critic Steven Rea at 215-854-5629 or srea@phillynews.com.
The Last Samurai ** 1/2 (out of four stars)
Produced by Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner, Scott Kroopf and Tom Engelman; directed by Zwick; written by John Logan, Herskovitz and Zwick; photography by John Toll; music by Hans Zimmer; distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Running time: 2 hours, 34 mins.
Nathan Algren. . . Tom Cruise
Katsumoto. . . Ken Watanabe
Simon Graham. . . Timothy Spall
Zebulon Gant. . . Billy Connolly
Taka. . . Koyuki
Parent's guide: R (violence, adult themes)
Playing at: area theaters