by Frank Wilkins
The Last Samurai is a film of what should have been. A technical marvel, handsomely photographed and thoroughly researched, it unfurls like a beautiful red carpet. We admire its scale and refinement, realizing the significance of the path it marks. Its threads are of the finest imported silk; its ticking of the headiest of stock. But as the uncoiling tapestry nears the end of its roll, its weaknesses and flaws become clear for all to see. The fact that it is made of the finest basic elements does not camouflage the reality that in the hands of Director Edward Zwick, The Last Samurai is falling apart at the seams.

Zwick puts together some absolutely stunning battle sequences and he obviously knows where to put the camera for the greatest impact. Although the sets are fascinating and the period details are flawless, attention to detail will never overcome the inability to tell a great story. While he gets great performances from MOST of his actors – more on that later – the fact remains that The Last Samurai is an incongruous mess of many memorable parts that fail to add up to a great sum.

When we first meet Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) in 1876, he's a heavy drinking Little Big Horn veteran lending his good name to help sell Winchester repeating rifles. But it's clear he isn't happy. Haunted by memories of being forced by his commanding officer to mow down tribes of Indians in the name of Westward progress and disillusioned by a modern soldier's role in the systematic extermination of a race of people, Algren finds solace in a bottle of whiskey. Realizing that his life is spiraling downward, he jumps at an opportunity to assist the U.S Army in training the Japanese military in modern battlefield techniques.

Upon his arrival in Japan, Algren discovers an eager yet unseasoned military force assembled by the boyish Emperor Meiji of Japan (Shichinosuke Nakamura). Against Algren's recommendation that the Emperor's forces are not yet ready for battle, the newly trained soldiers are asked to press forward with their defense of the homeland in the face of rebel attacks by what Algren is told is a seriously outmanned and outgunned renegade Samurai warlord, Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe).

Algren is almost immediately captured, but not before mounting a near miraculous hand-to-hand stand that so greatly impresses Katsumoto that he orders Algren taken alive. Back at the rebel encampment, Algren is treated with great respect and is even housed by the family of the warrior who he unknowingly killed in battle. Algren comes to greatly admire the way of the Samurai as it embraces many of his own beliefs about war – that the purpose of fighting should be to preserve a way of life rather than to destroy one. Algren defends Katsumoto against a punishing attack by highly skilled Ninja warriors and eventually joins the Samurai in their rebellion against the Japanese forces that continue to be trained by his fellow American soldiers. This final battle scene falls prey to such an extreme case of cliché-ridden "Hollywood-itis", that it effectively unravels the beautiful red carpet from beneath any credibility that had been generated up to this point. Although the same can be said about some of the battle sequences in Braveheart, in Braveheart they worked, here they don't.

The Last Samurai is an historical epic about the Japanese monarchy's attempt to destroy its stifling system of feudalism that had been in place for thousands of years. This aspect of the story – which was my main interest – was purposefully left vague and underdeveloped. Granted, a typical movie audience is more interested in the battle scenes with plenty of Tom Cruise screen time, but without an historical reference to draw upon, The Last Samurai feels like a shallow, disjointed martial arts flick. Cruise never feels compelled to come to Zwick's aid as he spends most of his face time staring, glassy-eyed past the camera, content with letting his star power drive the impact of the film's message.

Frank Wilkins