Rating: 
Summary: I Was Blown Away!
Review: Okay, let me just start out by saying this: THE LAST SAMURAI kicked GLADIATOR's butt. The film shows a humanity and a passion that Ridley Scott's (undeserving) Best Picture winner did not. And while that film succeeded mostly as an action film despite its dramatic intentions, THE LAST SAMURAI succeeds as a powerful story of honor, friendship and redemption.I won't even bother explaining the plot to you, as I always leave that up to the Amazon.com reviewer. While most people said the plot was too similar to that of DANCES WITH WOLVES (some even calling it a remake), I have to disagree. Though the two films definitely share some similarities, they are two totally different experiences. As to which one is better . . . . . . . well, I like them both around the same, probably, if for different reasons. I should start with Tom Cruise. This is probably the most against-type role I've ever seen him in. Though he doesn't give the very best performance of his career, it's probably on the list. Plus, I always find it fascinating when actors take very different turns in both characters and acting style. The supporting cast was great, too; Ken Watanabe earned his Oscar nomination, bringing to his role a sense of pride and quiet grace. You look in his eyes and see the sadness in them, in that he is truly the last of his kind, the last of a dying race of men of honor and heroism. His world is almost gone, and he knows that his time is near an end, as well. I hope he wins that Oscar. I was quite impressed with another character in this movie: the music. Hans Zimmer has done it again, creating a masterful score that I think is one of his best. The beautiful landscape serves as a character, too, adding even more to the feel and tone of the movie (I actually think they filmed it in New Zealand). The production & costume design is first-rate, as well, both earning further Academy Award nominations. Director Edward Zwick shows the same spectacular epic filmmaking skills as he did with GLORY and LEGENDS OF THE FALL. I can't wait for his next film, whatever it may be! Oh, and this reminds me: I've heard countless critics complain about the ending, calling it a groan-inducing, all-too-conventional Hlooywood ending. I don't know what the heck they were talking about! The ending was perfectly fine. Don't listen to the critics on this one. It's rare that we get an epic as awesome and well crafted as THE LAST SAMURAI. Or I should say, it used to be rare. Nowadays Hollywood keeps pouring out the historical & fantasy epics (the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, MASTER & COMMANDER, and this year's upcoming TROY, KING ARTHUR, and ALEXANDER). I think it's safe to say that the epic motion picture is here to stay for quite a long while. For one of the best examples of these, see THE LAST SAMURAI. This is the film that should be in SEABISCUIT's place among the nominations for Best Picture.
Rating: 
Summary: pretty weak
Review: I dunno, i kinda though the acting was weak and the script was nothing new. They really made up a lot of history for this one. I couldnt help but think Americans would be offended if they made a movie about the revolution and put some Japanese guy in it as the hero. I guess the music was pretty good, and it had some gread scenery, but i wouldn't watch it twice.
Rating: 
Summary: Fake but good.
Review: Don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed The Last Samurai, but it's complete bull. This is one of the most unlikely stories ever to be passed off as something realistic. I won't exactly go into detail to spare some from spoilers, but just flat out, this offers a very unrealistic attitude of the samurai from feudal Japan. Last of all, how the hell can Tom Cruise survive all that crap?
Rating:
Summary: Fantasy
Review: This film is a fantasy, pure and simple, beyond just the addition of a white American to the rebel samurai ranks. This is not necessarily a problem if the movie-goer is seeking out something other than historical drama, but the viewer should keep him/herself more in mind of "The Lord of the Rings" than of "Lawrence of Arabia" when watching it.
Katsumoto's deference to the Emperor is the driving force for his character, but the real samurai had no tradition of loyalty to him. In fact, the samurai only came full-force onto the pages of history by, in effect, overthrowing the Emperor in the 12th century and usurping his power. It wasn't until the beginning of the Meiji Era (the time in which this film is set) that the Emperor regained any real control at all, and it was his choice to "modernize" Japan (Army and all) out of a justified fear of European colonization and/or exploitation. Of course, by this time the samurai had lived under centuries of isolationist peace, and had long since ceased to be warriors. They had become the powerful hereditary nobles and bureaucrats of Japan, more akin to Cicero than Caesar, and it was not the creation of the Army that bothered most of them, but the new laws forbidding them to wear swords- the symbols of their status- in an attempt at abolition of the (deeply inefficient and unprofitable) nobility system.
Nevertheless, the character of Katsumoto is indeed based on a real person, and the film on real events. But the those who revolted were, first, a tiny minority of the samurai who continued to live by (or re-adopted) the old lifestyle; and, second, at war over the threat to their accumulated clout, rather than over some perception of Japan "losing its way". Their actions were nothing more than a naked power-grab.
The storied traditions of the samurai largely came to an end (as much as they ever existed) when Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power at the beginning of the 17th century.
(As a side note, the scene with the ninja was the one part of the film I found truly outlandish. Video games aside, ninja are not readily apparent in Japan. There is little mention of them in history; they were not, and are not, especially respected or admired; and Japanese people on the whole cannot fathom the young American male's obsession with them. There is no matching fervor on the other side of the Pacific. What is common knowledge, however, is that at no time would dozens of them work together or get themselves caught up in an all-out attack, nor would a government trying to 'modernize' employ them. Since they made their living on contracts against noblemen's belongings, most of decent society looked on them with more contempt than Europeans showed the most fearsome pirates).
The portrayal of Japan and, specifically, samurai "society" in this film is the Western romantic version- like Mallory's portrayal of medieval knights and the Chivalric Code in "L'Morte D'Arthur". This does not make the film entirely without merit. The cinematography is gorgeous, and I would happily watch the film again for that alone. The acting is fairly strong. I personally think Tom Cruise is an excellent actor, when he chooses a good role (like in "Rain Man", "Eyes Wide Shut", and others), and he performs adequately here. However, it is far from his best work, and I think it was a correct decision for the Academy not to honor him with a nomination this year.
Perhaps part of the problem with the performance was a problem with the characters. Most were rather typical of the genre known as "epic", and I could guess what they were going to say before the words were out of their mouths. The story itself was easily predictable, but plot twists are not the reason most people will come to see this film.
Altogether, I can best describe the movie as "fun". I find it enjoyable in the same way as I do anything from "Terminator 2" to "Sleepless in Seattle". It's entertainment, not art.
Rating: 
Summary: The Last Samurai
Review: Bottom line ..... "Dances with Wolves" in Japan. And Tom Cruise is just a bad actor period.
Rating:
Summary: Astonishing!
Review: While I seriously doubt certain things depicted in the movie (e.g. how family of a killed samurai would take their father/husband's killer into their house, or how in 6 months Algren (Cruise) would learn to fight w/katana matching the skills of the fighters w/many years of experience, etc) I have to admit that this movie was one of the most impressive films I've ever seen.
The courage, honor, sense of respect and culture of Japanese warriors are absolutely breathtaking and are combined with the incredible battle scenes and magnificent acting!
This is definitely one movie that will not be a waste of money. I would highly recommend it to everybody.
Rating:
Summary: Must-buy movie
Review: Wow. That is the only way to describe this magnificent film. Tom Cruise delivers an excellent performance, and Ken Watanabe is deserving of an oscar for his supporting role. While not historically accurate, The Last Samurai is a film that delivers a powerfull message of something long forgotten in today's world: Honor. Cruise is an American army captain who travels to Japan to train the Emperor's army. The Emperor wishes to westernize Japan, and is enlisting help form several countries to accomplish this. Watanabe plays the leader of a group of rebel samurai fighting Japan's westernization. The samurai capture Cruise, who spends the winter in their mountain village, learning the daily life of the Samurai as well as their military training. A superb film achievement which is definitely deserving of some hardware at the Oscars. My personal Best Picture choice, The Last Samurai will captivate from start to finish.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie
Review: This movie was an unbelievable epic. The acting was phenomenal, especially from Ken Watanabe, whos acting was quite a surprise as a supporting actor. Cruise was good as always, but Watanabe stole the show.
Definitly one of the top movies of the year, if there were no lord of the rings i would choose Samurai as the best of the year.
Rating: 
Summary: A major disappointment
Review: When I heard about the last samurai, I thought it would be a very interesting movie about 19th century Japan. But I was very disappointed since the flick turned out to be an outrageously bad mix between "Rambo" and some National Geographic nature documentary on Japan. The movie gave no real feeling of real Japanese culture, only the western view about the "noble savages". The Japanese are portrayed as some dumb natives (like "Friday" in Robinson Crusoe) that have to be taught by the "white man" just to do something with their lives. The samurais are portrayed as some kind of oppressed minority, a kind of "native American tribe" of "noble savages" that only are trying to survive through proud fighting against the modern world which is in sharp contrast to their nature-worshiping, purely modest and endangered traditional lifestyle (in real life the samurais were feudal, aristocratic warlords stuck with a derailed code of honour but what do Hollywood care...?). Well the movie was just annoying, and of course it can't be compared with Kurosawa...
Rating:
Summary: Epic, Haunting and Beautiful
Review: The story is about a man haunted by his past in being part of a massacre of an Indian tribe. He can't sleep quietly since he is punished by nightmares about how he was forced to be and participate in something he clearly saw as wrong but had no other choice. Simply put this character is another poor life destroyed by war. He is hired by the Japanese to train the Imperial Army in the occidental ways at a time a week emperor allows his advisors to forget tradition an import the ways of "more advanced civilizations". In the process, the man gets captured by the samurai and during this captivity he begins not only to learn about their ways and philosophy, but also has peace for the first time in many years. The Costume Design is incredibly accurate and the cinematography is absolutely superb. The music by Hans Zimmer is just beautiful, like another Gladiator epic. This movie is for people who love those little details. The production is really ambitious and works to deliver an astonishing view.
This DVD is really promising with features like the "History vs. Hollywood: The Last Samurai History Channel Documentary"
If you like this kind of movie where characters find themselves with a simpler but deeper view of life and appreciate a superb production, then this movie is certainly going to give you a very good three hours.
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