Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie
Review: There is going to be a large group of people that aren't going to like this movie for a three main reasons. One, there aren't any clear protagonists. Two the characters the movie centers on don't necessarily win. Three, Tom Cruise stars.The director of this movie is best known for directing the classic Civil War epic Glory. This movie shows a lot of similar aspects of Glory. Tom Cruise who is a former hero from the Civil War is now broken and destitute. His past haunts him and he can't seem to find any sort of life outside the millitary. His character was involved in forcing Native Americans out of lands desired by the American government. In other words killing any that didn't leave voluntarily. So he has nightmares of being ordered to kill women and children. Winchester pays him to do performances telling the values of their rifles, but even they are losing patience with him. His alcoholism and depression have made him next to impossible to work with. He is then looked up by a man he used to serve with who has a business proposition. Japan has decided to modernize their society to keep pace with the times. So they are hiring people from all over the world to help them out. Most notably "warriors" from the United States. He is sent to Japan and starts to teach their "soldiers", which are conscripts, main farmers who'd never fired a rifle in their lives. When their leaders inform him of an opponent the the modernization, a samurai that opposes the new ways. He is told he needs to take his army into battle, their superior weapons will help ensure victory. He warns them that it is a bad idea to take green soliders into a battle with combat veterans this early despite their superior weapons. His fears prove justified, the soliders are too frightened to follow orders or even keep rank. The Samurai rush in and quickly defeat his forces. He is kept alive because the samurai leader, Katsumoto, is interested in this fierce fighter, and wants to learn of his enemy. So the Samurai reluctantly let him live and take him into the mountains where he is trapped there by the winter. This was a well acted, well shot, and engaging. Some people complain that the plot has been done before, but what plots haven't? The Lion King followed the story of Hamlet, Resevoir Dogs was about 60% of a hong kong movie "city on fire", and Kill Bill is a mix of every major hong kong and japanese action cinema in existence. The important part is how it is carried out. This movie has well choreographed action sequences. Though they were a little inaccurate towards the end on what was known and what they did, it was a minor detail. The main characters weren't the heroes you would expect them to be. They humanized so that you relate with them, but are still their own people. There is a discussion where they talk of Custer's last stand, one that we look at with embarassment. Katsumoto on the other hand is impressed with their bravery and thinks they died a good death. Dying in combat against incredible odds was not only brave to him, but honorable. Didn't matter the reasons, Samurai didn't believe in right or wrong, only duty. Tom Cruise wasn't that bad, he has matured since Risky Business. He isn't at the level of Sean Connery or George Clooney, but he is competent and believable in this role. All in all this is a well made and entertaining film. There should be elements for all types, so it would be a good date movie. Action to keep guys interested, and complicated romantic elements that will entertain the women. It doesn't reach the same levels as Gladiator or Braveheart, but it is worth the price of admission. As well as being a treat for those who love asian culture.
Rating: 
Summary: All I can say is, WOW!
Review: I was very impressed by this film. The characters portrayed much emotion and realism. The ending was quite emotional too. This is one of the rare films that the would be bad guys are actually good. I was very touched. The extras on the second disc were pretty good, I liked the history of the film and the era which it takes place. I rented, I saw, I bought. Enough said. MF
Rating: 
Summary: Ouch
Review: If only Mel Gibson was the American War Captain Tom Cruise is then this movie would probably be one of my favorites.
Tom Cruise has given us the poorest performance ever in this movie and I am still astounded since the day I read that he was expecting Oscars for this very performance.
Then the other hole to this movie's ship was the "comedian" Billy Connolly that everytime he appeared made you feel you're attending a cheap theatric play.
But after all this movie's plot wasn't bad at all. It is actually quite gripping! It is about an American Captain who trains Japanese troops to use modern weapons effectively but soon he gets captured by Samurai's and he's kept as a prisoner until the snows melt! I can't recommend this movie because I sincerely think it was ruined by the unneccesary Billy Connolly and the poor performance of the talented Tom Cruise. But hey this is just my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: Please... Too much 'EXAGGERATION' can make you sick...
Review: First of all, I think it's a wrong judgmental call to label committing suicde of samurias as 'cowardice'. It is their culture and it is their code of honor and spirit... So let's not make any judgment on someone else's culture. Ok, it was a nice attempt to illustrates the code of honor, 'Bushido' through the experience of this trouble-minded westerner captain... however, I just cannot get rid of this feeling of being 'violated' of truth. It becomes much more apparent toward the end that this is clearly a propaganda movie to glorify 'Japanese value', which caused so much sufferings in Asia. It was this very 'Japanese value', which killed millions of men, women, and children under their rifles and medical experiments. It was again this 'Japanese value', which forced countless women to be dragged and raped again and again by the Japanese soldiers (seriously, sick bastards). The very reason I felt violated is not because of their past atrocity, however, their very 'value', which refuses to admit and apologize for their crimes today. Germany has compensated and apologized for everything they did to Jewish; but not Japan. Why is that? think about it with this 'propaganda' movie. This DVD was definitely interesting in the beginning, trying to show the modernization process, which Japan had to go through in the Meiji Era. However, the sickening 'exaggeration' and absurdly 'glorified' of this Samurai spirit, and more over the very value of Japan... disgusted me at the end. Lastly, think about why someone would write something like this despite of its excellent aspects; "we NEVER did it"
Rating:
Summary: Honor, Duty, Entertainment
Review: While it may not be historically accurate and exact does anyone know of any film created in Hollywood that is? I mean come on folks, it's Hollywood. And I love Hollywood because mostly it's all entertaining. The Last Samurai is entertaining and somewhat historically accurate, but the best thing about this movie to me is the underlying message. The one about Honor. Duty. Bushido and the Samurai way. If you've ever wondered about the Samurai or heard about them but didn't quite "get it", watch this movie. Then you will "get it". The mind, the culture, the beauty of the Japanese(Samurai) mind. I saw this movie the same week that I saw the 3rd Lord of the Rings, and my first comment upon leaving the theater was, "Wow that was 10 times better than the Lord of the Rings". For me it was and it is. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: A Genuine Film About Honor & What Humans Fight For
Review: MOVIE: This film was one of the surprises for me of 2003. I saw Tom Cruise playing in this Samurai genre film that looked very bad. I was the victim of bad marketing. The trailer does not show what the movie is truly about. This film is a wonderful exploration of interaction among societies and how the world as a diverse planet can learn from one another. The film was excellent because it really showed the audience about Samurai life and built on the characters and their ideologies. We learn through watching how a Samurai grows up trained to obey the emperor and lives by honor. Through the intense character development comes the importance of the ending. Cruise also gave a good performance but as you've all heard, Ken Watanabe steals the show. Hans Zimmer's score also brought the movie to life as does all of his incredible scores for their movies. The Last Samurai does however becomes the victim of Hollywood cinema. The film is not all historically accurate, but then again the purpose of the film isn't really to be a documentary, but more of a character exploration. This is a movie that is a little gem, not a masterpiece, but not something you want to throw away. VIDEO: The only problem with this transfer is a little grain here and there, but overall a nice effort by Warner. There is also the flaw of some blurring during fast paced scenes. AUDIO: The disc has a Dolby 5.1 track and is pretty clean but not as good as it should be. PACKAGING / EXTRAS: The disc comes in a standard two disc Amaray case (I love two disc sets from warner cause they can't put them in snapper cases). The extras include a 13 minute featurette about Tom Cruise and his experience making the film, Edward Zwick's directors journal a 26 minute featurette, a conversation with Zwick and Cruise, History vs. Hollywood a 22 minute special from the history channel, a production design featurette, a costume featurette, two deleted scenes, and footage from the premieres in Japan, and trailers for the film. Overall a nice heft sack of goodies but I wish they had a featurette dedicated to Hans Zimmer's score since it was very well done. Movie Score: (4 Stars / 5 Stars)
DVD Score: (8 / 10)
Rating:
Summary: Braveheart in Japan?
Review: Braveheart in Japan? A lot of people have called this movie "Braveheart" in Japan, however I don't think there is too much wrong with that, after all I loved Braveheart ;) Yes so the movie does seem to borow a bit from Braveheart, but that doesn't mean it should be overlooked and I believe Tom Cruise was rightfully nominated for an Oscar for his part in this movie. First of all the character that Tom Cruise portays, as much as he behaves like a complete a-hole, you start to like him after a while, he's a drunk, foul-mouth disobying little rat but still there is something about him that makes you like him, maybe it's the fact that he uses quite a bit of humor in interacting with the local people he eventually ends up staying with. Even though Cruise is good I believe the show-stealer in this movie is Ken Watanabe, he delivers an amazing performance that will have you cheering for him at the end of the movie and also will make you want to go check him out in other movies, I know one of the first things I did after watching the movie was to find out what other movies he had been in. Even though the plot of the movie is pretty predictable the way the movie has been shot and the exterior shots are so beautiful that you just keep on watching, for some reason the movie doesn't seem as long when you are watching it for the first time, I believe that to be a sign of a great movie, one that keeps you entertained for hours without it seeming like its taking hours. Be weary though, the movie does get pretty violent at times, but I believe that if you can sit through the battle-scenes you are going to be treated to one of the better movies of 2003, highly recommended epic movie
Rating:
Summary: A Stirring Tribute to the Way of the Samurai
Review: The Last Samurai focuses on the dying days of the samurai. Tom Cruise plays a disillusioned American army officer who is hired to train the newly established Imperial Army in Japan. While training this ragtag army, he is ordered to put down a samurai rebellion. However, his fresh troops haven't completed their training and they are quickly defeated by the samurai, and he is captured. The leader of the samurai keep him alive so that he can learn about the ways of his American enemies. Slowly, the army officer becomes acustomed to and accepted into samurai life. Taken as entertainment, this is an excellent movie. However, there are lots of inaccuracies in this movie. Also, the idea that an American army officer would be accepted into the traditional society of the samurai is ridiculous when you consider that it would be impossible even for most Japanese. In the feudal system of the samurai, there was no social mobility and there were no chances for outsiders to enter the system which is one of the main reasons that samurai society had to be destroyed. It was incompatible with modernism. Despite this, if you realize that this movie is just historical fantasy and enjoy it as such, then it's a great piece of entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! Great Movie & Lots of Extra Features
Review: Brilliant performance not only from Tom Cruise but also from other Japanese actors & actress. This is a relatively long movie last over 2.5 hours but you won't find a single boring scene. The Samurai's Bushido will really make you feel intense. The DVD comes with 2 discs. Movie is on the disc one and lots of extra goodies can be found from disc two. In addition to the regular features such as director's commentaries, making of the Last Samurai, and deleted scenes, etc., it also includes the Bushido's Way, Japan Premiers, and the 25 minutes documentary from History Channel: History vs Holloywood --- about what's from the real history and what's hollowoodized. Overall, excellent film, rich features!
Rating:
Summary: Falls just short of greatness
Review: Whereas screenwriter John Logan's last great epic picture, 'Gladiator', seemed flawlessly planned and yet, somehow, not quite credible, 'The Last Samurai' firmly makes its case as one of the great sweepingly stylistic films of the 21st century, and yet fails to arrive at the symphonic conclusion of its predecessor. The film and its themes are certainly timely. Two "enemies" seek to eliminate one another in, ironically, a quest to "unify" Japan under a common ideology. Both believe their adversaries to be "barbarians": uncivilized and ignorant insurgents with little humanity and even less understandable motivation. And yet, in the elegant final moments of the film, as the two armies collide and annihilate one another, we realize that the great illusions of war, of special "interests", of ideologies... often overshadow the common heritage of these, and all, men. In an age where "difference"; where "division", seems to be the eternal issue, Zwick's film makes a poignant case for "humanistic equilibrium", and asks us all to seek out that which provides us with a "peace that few ever achieve..." And yet, however well-intentioned and beautifully crafted the movie was, the banal voice-overs, and hackneyed reunification of the "hero" with his "loved ones" at film's conclusion served as deconstructive devices. It's as though the filmmakers, during post-production, found themselves wondering whether the audience required a more concrete, mainstream ending; effectually debasing the film from an intelligent, even philosophical adventure, to a quality Hollywood "pic"... something a la 'Troy'. I admire Zwick and his team for their ability to manufacture a highly meaningful work of art and to capture the universality of its messages. The film, perhaps not so subtly, suggests that our resistance to re examining our misjudgements and prejudgements runs deeper, and more eternally, than we ourselves imagine.
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