US
Action/Adventure
Feature film
2003

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There's not much unexpected to say about The Last Samurai. It's a Tom Cruise action movie, which has a lot of good scenery (and I'm not talking about Tom Cruise), several good actors, and a fine story. I like the somewhat unexpected ending, although I'm still not sure I buy the fact that Tom Cruise's character survives the final attack.

In fact, there were only a couple of drawbacks for me. Cruise's character only has one facial expression throughout the movie; stoic, hard with just a touch of pain. He starts out as a jaded army captain outrunning the horrors of his past. He ends up reclaiming his honor. But there's that same expression on his face. Geeze, let the guy show a little emotion already!

The other is that I simply cannot remember the name of the main character (played by Tom Cruise). I'm not sure why it's so forgettable, but it troubles me that I couldn't remember it, even while I was watching the movie.

I liked the fight scenes a great deal -- when I guy got sliced by a samurai sword, he usually died. Nothing over the top and completely unbelievable. I liked themes of honor, betrayal and redemption. I especially enjoyed the little twist where Cruise's character defeats his army nemesis with one swift throw and no long, drawn-out mano-a-mano duel. Overall I found The Last Samurai entertaining, and worth the 160 minute run time.