47 Ronin
2.5/4
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ko Shibasaki, Rinko Kikuchi, Tadanobu Asano, Min Tanaka, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence and Action, Some Disturbing Images, and Thematic Elements
One would assume that the story of the 47 Ronin, Japan's national legend (thousands of people visit the graves of these men each year), deserved a better treatment than this. The themes of honor, revenge and sacrifice would be at home in an epic action movie on par with "The Last Samurai" or "Avatar." Instead, we have this fantasy/action picture, which, while certainly not bad (in fact, I almost gave it a 3/4), is a little underwhelming.
The story of the 47 ronin (samurai without a master...a huge disgrace under the Japanese code of bushido) has been told so many times since the actual event in 1701 that it has its own genre (chushingura). This $200 million film is just the latest version.
Kai (Daniel Barber) is a "half-breed," a partly Japanese man living in feudal Japan. He was found on the side of the road by Oishi (Manato Sekiguchi). His father, the local clan leader, Lord Asano (Tanaka), takes the boy under his wing and raises him as his own. Unfortunately, the only ones who give him any respect are Asano and his new sister, Mika (Aria Maekawa). Everyone else views him with extreme disdain.
Fast forward about twenty years. Lord Kira (Asano) is the ruler of a rival clan, and seeks to take over the city ruled by Asano. With the help of a witch (Kikuchi), Kira bamboozles Asano into attacking him, which makes the Shogun (Tagawa) really angry, although he allows Asano to commit suicide to regain his honor. He also doesn't allow any of Asano's samurai to seek revenge, even though this leaves them as ronin. Unwilling to let Asano's death go unpunished, Oishi (Sanada) gathers Kai (Reeves) and the rest of the samurai to take down Kira.
Lets get the obvious out of the way. Ideally, the role of Kai should be played by a Japanese actor. But there were box office considerations to take into consideration, so Keanu Reeves (who is of multi-cultural descent, although none of his heritage is Japanese) was cast. To be fair, the producers cast more than a few Japanese actors in supporting roles, including Sanada, Asano, Kikuchi, Shibisaki, and Jin Akanishi). But it still feels a little uncomfortable watching this movie with Reeves in the main role.
Speaking of Reeves, this isn't a good role for him. Reeves is not as bad of an actor as some claim (in all honesty, there are more good performances of his than bad ones), but his range is limited. Fortunately, he doesn't have much dialogue in this movie. Better is the always good Hiroyuki Sanada, who has had supporting roles in movies like "Speed Racer," Danny Boyle's "Sunshine," and the aforementioned "The Last Samurai." Academy Award nominee Rinko Kikuchi gives new meaning to the term "over-the-top," but isn't always successful. Still, she's pretty badass (turning herself from a liquid kimono to a big dragon...way cool). The best performance is given by Ko Shibisaki, who is positively lovely as the adult Mika. Most of the film's limited emotional component comes from her.
Memo to Hollywood: don't give a first-time director a $200 million special effects extravaganza. While the special effects are cool, he has a way to go with his storytelling abilities and character development (although part of the blame has to go to the screenwriters). Carl Rinsch does a solid job; he's a hell of a lot better than some other directors. The story is coherent and moderately engaging.
So far, the film has bombed at the box office. While it's a little early to tell if it is the disaster that some people are proclaiming (it's only been out a week), it's not going to wow the box office. The movie should have been taken more seriously than it actually was.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ko Shibasaki, Rinko Kikuchi, Tadanobu Asano, Min Tanaka, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence and Action, Some Disturbing Images, and Thematic Elements
One would assume that the story of the 47 Ronin, Japan's national legend (thousands of people visit the graves of these men each year), deserved a better treatment than this. The themes of honor, revenge and sacrifice would be at home in an epic action movie on par with "The Last Samurai" or "Avatar." Instead, we have this fantasy/action picture, which, while certainly not bad (in fact, I almost gave it a 3/4), is a little underwhelming.
The story of the 47 ronin (samurai without a master...a huge disgrace under the Japanese code of bushido) has been told so many times since the actual event in 1701 that it has its own genre (chushingura). This $200 million film is just the latest version.
Kai (Daniel Barber) is a "half-breed," a partly Japanese man living in feudal Japan. He was found on the side of the road by Oishi (Manato Sekiguchi). His father, the local clan leader, Lord Asano (Tanaka), takes the boy under his wing and raises him as his own. Unfortunately, the only ones who give him any respect are Asano and his new sister, Mika (Aria Maekawa). Everyone else views him with extreme disdain.
Fast forward about twenty years. Lord Kira (Asano) is the ruler of a rival clan, and seeks to take over the city ruled by Asano. With the help of a witch (Kikuchi), Kira bamboozles Asano into attacking him, which makes the Shogun (Tagawa) really angry, although he allows Asano to commit suicide to regain his honor. He also doesn't allow any of Asano's samurai to seek revenge, even though this leaves them as ronin. Unwilling to let Asano's death go unpunished, Oishi (Sanada) gathers Kai (Reeves) and the rest of the samurai to take down Kira.
Lets get the obvious out of the way. Ideally, the role of Kai should be played by a Japanese actor. But there were box office considerations to take into consideration, so Keanu Reeves (who is of multi-cultural descent, although none of his heritage is Japanese) was cast. To be fair, the producers cast more than a few Japanese actors in supporting roles, including Sanada, Asano, Kikuchi, Shibisaki, and Jin Akanishi). But it still feels a little uncomfortable watching this movie with Reeves in the main role.
Speaking of Reeves, this isn't a good role for him. Reeves is not as bad of an actor as some claim (in all honesty, there are more good performances of his than bad ones), but his range is limited. Fortunately, he doesn't have much dialogue in this movie. Better is the always good Hiroyuki Sanada, who has had supporting roles in movies like "Speed Racer," Danny Boyle's "Sunshine," and the aforementioned "The Last Samurai." Academy Award nominee Rinko Kikuchi gives new meaning to the term "over-the-top," but isn't always successful. Still, she's pretty badass (turning herself from a liquid kimono to a big dragon...way cool). The best performance is given by Ko Shibisaki, who is positively lovely as the adult Mika. Most of the film's limited emotional component comes from her.
Memo to Hollywood: don't give a first-time director a $200 million special effects extravaganza. While the special effects are cool, he has a way to go with his storytelling abilities and character development (although part of the blame has to go to the screenwriters). Carl Rinsch does a solid job; he's a hell of a lot better than some other directors. The story is coherent and moderately engaging.
So far, the film has bombed at the box office. While it's a little early to tell if it is the disaster that some people are proclaiming (it's only been out a week), it's not going to wow the box office. The movie should have been taken more seriously than it actually was.
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