Rating: 
Summary: Watanabe and Cruise are great
Review: MOVIE REVIEW :The Movie Opens up with Veteran Captain Nathan Algren(Tom Cruise). He was in both the Civil War and the Indian wars. Depressed about killing countless Indians he becomes a drunk and wanders around half aware of whats going on. Eventually a man named Omura (Masato Harada) offers him a big paycheck to come and fight for him in Japan. Algren accepts and leaves with him.
Soon after Algren gets their he is told to stop a rebellion, as expected he gets captured by their leader Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). This is where the movie really gets good. Ken Watanabe is a remarkable actor and we will see him a lot more in the future. Algren and Katsumoto's connection in the movie is really good, you fell what they feel.
If you have seen the Movie Braveheart, and liked it, you will like this movie because they are very similar. Overall I enjoyed this movie a lot, and have bought the dvd and plaved right next to Braveheart, We Were Solders, and Saving Private Ryan. I rate this move 4 1/2 out of 5.VIDEO REVIEW: For a Warners dvd is is very well done. Once in a while you see a little grain on the screen, but nothing that noticable, and sometimes it blurrs a tad. But those are both very minor. I Rate the video 4 out of 5. SOUND/AUDIO: Their is an English or French Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, with English,French and Spanish subtitles. Although it is surround sound it barly uses the bacl speakers, almost all the sound is on the front two speakers. This takes away from the expierence a lot. The Audio is very clean though and the soundtrack, done by Hans Zimmer is very good. I Rate the Sound and Audio 3 1/2 out of 5. Extras: Once again Warner does not uses the cardboard flap case(that is a very good thing!) It is packaged in a two disk Amaray case . The two disk comes packed with extras, however only half of them are good. I did enjoy director Ed Zwick's commentary a lot. I Rate the Extras 4 1/2 out of 5. OVERALL: I liked this movie a lot, and it is a good dvd. Since Amazon does not take half stars, I will be marking this a 4, however I Rate the overall dvd 4 1/2 out of 5.
Rating: 
Summary: Best of the Year
Review: The Last Samurai was an outstanding movie and it is definitely a must to your dvd library. Unlike the lacking of standout characters in the Oscar winning trilogy, Lord of the Rings, The Last Samurai had a strong core of actors. Going into the movie one would assume that Tom Cruise has a dominating role, but after seeing it is fairly evident that Ken Watanabe's standout role proved to be the biggest success and worth the praise. The action scenes range from gruesome to extremely deep east meets west standoffs. The Japanese culture was handled very well and was given a lot of respect and will open you to ways or ideas that you thought unconceivable. This is a must buy for those who like the epic battle types or those who look sometimes for deeper meanings in those action style movies.
Rating:
Summary: Great flick
Review: I would rather just say a few words about Japanese friends of mine who have seen this film. They all thought it was fantastic in its portrayal of the samurai, one (a grown man) even cried while watching it. This film is a rare treat for Westerners interested in seeing the old Japanese traditional customs.
Rating:
Summary: THE PREVIEWS LOOKED OVERRATED.....
Review: But slap me cuz i was wrong. I usually don't like movies that depict the Asian characters as the bad guys or the losers. Not only that, i hated the fact that a white guy was going to lead the Samurai's into freedom( this is what i believed what the movie was about before i watched it). I REALLY did not want to see this movie, but since my friends wanted to watch it, i told myself, 'why not?' I don't want to write a 2 page paper about how GREAT this movie was so lets just say that i came out of the theatre with a big ass smile and pride. Tom Cruise wasn't the star.. KATSUMOTO was. This movie is simply BAD ASS and not only that... the action, story, and the cast just grips you from the very beginning. The movie starts with a rising bang and ends with a 'Life is Beautiful' type of feeling. hahahaa have fun
Rating:
Summary: a nicely done movie with a heart
Review: i just don't know why people were bashing cruise so badly. he's actually done a great job, his only shortcoming is his height on the screen. he's becoming older, more intense and more serious in the performance art. he had proved himself a very good and versatile actor, not just a handsome face. all other japanese castings are also good enough. the script is pretty okay. although we were not too moved by the story, but the whole picture is a wonderfully done one, not like the pathetic and drowsy 'open range', but a poetically done film. special effects and stunts are also very very good. all the roles are nicely casted and performed, all the scenes are just fine even perfect. a very good movie. high 5s to cruise and the director.
Rating:
Summary: a+
Review: Probably the best original historical movie, EVER. I would even go as far as saying that it is the best movie i have ever seen in my life. This is definately a must see, if not a must own.
Rating:
Summary: From a woman who doesn't like war movies...
Review: I loved this movie. After seeing this film, I cannot believe Tom Cruise was overlooked for an Oscar nomination. His performance is magnificent. Ken Watanabe was fabulous. The film was thrlling to watch and the insight into a culture that we get so little information on was a treat.
I highly recommend this movie.
Rating:
Summary: AWSOME!!
Review: One of, or even the best movie ever. The acting is sublime and the scenes are epic. Reccomended for any movie goer
Rating:
Summary: Movie of the Year - The Last Samurai
Review: By far this is the best movie that I've seen in a long while. Not only does it depict strong issues about honor, trust, integrity, values, sound morals, lodyalt, duty, and respect, but it also shows a deeper sense of love and loving than I've seen ages. Here is a movie full of passionate love, but no blatant sex acts. Yeah!!! That was a wonderful departure from the norm. Ken Watunabe's role was AWESOME!!! This is a great movie.
Rating:
Summary: Familiar formula
Review: Dances with wolves meets Shogun, with a little Braveheart thrown in (When you see the final battle scene in the movie, and have already seen Braveheart, you'll see what I mean)....but done real well. (Thank god!) Makes me want to be a samurai just watching it. If you have any interst in Japanese History or culture I highly recomend it.
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