Movie Review for Last Samurai, The

Summary: Captain Nathan Algren is a man adrift. The battles he once fought now seem distant and futile. Once he risked his life for honor and country, but, in the years since the Civil War, the world has changed. Pragmatism has replaced courage, self-interest has taken the place of sacrifice and honor is nowhere to be found--especially out West where his role in the Indian Campaigns ended in disillusionment and sorrow. Somewhere on the unforgiving plains near the banks of the Washita River, Algren lost his soul. A universe away, another soldier sees his way of life about to disintegrate. He is Katsumoto, the last leader of an ancient line of warriors, the venerated Samurai, who dedicated their lives to serving emperor and country. Just as the modern way encroached upon the American West, cornering and condemning the Native American, it also engulfed traditional Japan. The telegraph lines and railroads that brought progress now threaten those values and codes by which the Samurai have lived and died for centuries. But Katsumoto will not go without a fight. The paths of these two warriors converge when the young Emperor of Japan, wooed by American interests who covet the growing Japanese market, hires Algren to train Japan's first modern, conscript army. But as the Emperor's advisors attempt to eradicate the Samurai in preparation for a more Westernized and trade-friendly government, Algren finds himself unexpectedly impressed and influenced by his encounters with the Samurai. Their powerful convictions remind him of the man he once was. Thrust now into harsh and unfamiliar territory, with his life and perhaps more important, his soul, in the balance, the troubled American soldier finds himself at the center of a violent and epic struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his sense of honor to guide him.

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Mike McGranaghan of Aisle Seat (7/0)
            The Samurai ethic is explored in the kind of detail that kept me involved even when the plot hit ...

By Brian Webster of Apollo Guide (7/0)
            Great to look at and respectful of its subject matter, this is an epic with excitement, brains an...

By Philip Martin of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (7/0)
            ...one has to take into account is the sheer power of the show, the way The Last Samurai can swee...

By Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (6/1)
            A handsome, well-crafted production with strong work by the magnetic Watanabe and by Cruise, who ...

By Jeanne Aufmuth of Aufmuth.com (7/0)
            A mildly satisfying entertainment many moons shy of potential greatness.

By Nev Pierce of BBC (7/0)
            This is Dances With Wolves meets The Seven Samurai. Razor sharp.

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Emily Blunt of Blunt Review (7/0)
            The Last Samurai will be the Gladiator of the 2004 Oscars - it's going to simply sweep the awards...

By Dan Marcucci and Nancy Serougi of Broomfield Enterprise (7/0)
            I was deathly afraid that at some point this flick was going to turn into a version of “Crouching...

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            Beautifully designed, intelligently written, acted with conviction, it's an uncommonly thoughtful...

By Michael Wilmington of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            A stunning spectacle of cultural violence and a loving tribute to the great Japanese samurai movi...

By Michael Wilmington of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            A stunning spectacle of cultural violence and a loving tribute to the great Japanese samurai movi...

By David Sterritt of Christian Science Monitor (7/0)
            Less a heart-stirring historical study than a nostalgic fantasy, built on a foundation no firmer ...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Margaret A. McGurk of Cincinnati Enquirer (7/0)
            This movie is a thing of beauty, with the substance to match its style.

By Jules Brenner of Cinema Signals (7/0)
            Director Zwick has raised the effectiveness of combat scenes by tempering them with respectful ho...

By Joshua Tyler of CinemaBlend.com (7/0)
            Epic filmmaking at its absolute finest.

By David Keyes of Cinemaphile.org (7/0)
            The Last Samurai delivers in ways that would have made even Akira Kurosawa himself proud.

By Karina Montgomery of Cinerina (7/0)
            An intimate tale beautifully told in an epic setting that transcends the label of "Tom Cruise mov...

By Paul Clinton (CNN.com) of CNN.com (7/0)
            A spectacular epic adventure, and Cruise is stunning as Captain Nathan Algren.

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid (7/0)
            Zwick has no flair for the supposedly awesome battle scene that should have closed The Last Samur...

By Peter Sobczynski of Critic Doctor (7/0)
            Llittle more than a longer, less violent and more pretentious version of 'Kill Bill.' The differe...

By Arthur Lazere of culturevulture.net (7/0)
            'The Last Samurai' has pretensions to Kurosawa, but it got stuck in the viscous goop of soft soap...

By Boo Allen of Denton Record Chronicle (TX) (7/0)
            It's not Kurosawa but it's as close as Edward Zwick is likely to get.

By John J. Puccio of DVDTown.com (7/0)
            The Last Samurai has the look and feel of a thoughtful, epic fable, even if Hollywood tends to pu...

By Brian Mckay of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            (Cruise) rose to the occasion and eventually won me over -- or maybe the rest of the movie was go...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Erik Childress of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            Casts such a spell with its beauty, performances and four solid action sequences that its easy to...

By Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic.com (7/0)
            Sincere and respectful to its subject matter while delivering a rousing adventure tale...wrapped ...

By Nicolas Lacroix of EnPrimeur.ca (7/0)
            Un plaisir pour les yeux et les oreilles à voir sur grand écran, qui remue malgré les clichés.

By Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly (7/0)
            A handsome epic.

By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (7/0)
            It's an epic, to be sure, but it keeps a close eye on the humanity of its story and eschews needl...

By Eugene Novikov of Film Blather (7/0)
            Cruise crushes this movie under his weight, pushing everything interesting to the fringes of the ...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Nathaniel Rogers of Film Experience (7/0)
            The Last Samurai is either a deeply subversive film or a terriby misguided one.

By Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central (7/0)
            The phantom of the real deal, Zhang Yimou's astonishingly Zen Hero, lurks in the wings.

By Chris Barsanti of Film Journal International (7/0)
            If only all of this could have meant something. Because for all the beauty and savagery on displa...

By Doris Toumarkine of Film Journal International (7/0)
            The entire production is a visual feast.

By Jimmy O of Film Snobs (7/0)
            Zwick shouldn't be responsible for making a great epic focusing on internal conflicts in Japan, ...

By Joe Utichi of FilmFocus (7/0)
            It is definitely a treat for the eyes and ears and well worth a trip to the cinema to see.

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Victoria Alexander of FilmsInReview.com (7/0)
            I sat through it twice. Yes, it is well produced but still panders to a megastar.

By Susan Michals of FilmStew.com (7/0)
            In his 26th feature film, something of a Japanese version of Gladiator, Tom Cruise is so good you...

By Stephen Himes of Flak Magazine (7/0)
            A rare example of a great movie but horrible fiction.

By Rob Vaux of Flipside Movie Emporium (7/0)
            Watching it is a frustrating experience: you can see what it strives for, only to have that poten...

By Michael W. Phillips, Jr. of Goatdog's Movies (7/0)
            The Last Samurai's emotions are big and blocky.

By Eric Lurio of Greenwich Village Gazette (7/0)
            The script is tight, the acting compelling, the special effects believable…it has everything it t...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Ross Anthony of Hollywood Report Card (7/0)
            Passionately directed, cinematically splendid, with a sweetly sympathetic score, all is good save...

By Kirk Honeycutt of Hollywood Reporter (7/0)
            An epic East-meets-West action-drama that stirs the imagination.

By David Poland of Hot Button (7/0)
            The Last Samurai is not a bad film. But it is an evil one.

By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            Bogs down in a long, pretentious middle section that sometimes feels more like an endurance conte...

By JoBlo of JoBlo's Movie Emporium (7/0)
            Almost every single element of the movie-making process connects on virtually every level.

By Bob Bloom of Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) (7/0)
            Despite the familiar, almost formulaic storyline, The Last Samurai succeeds because of two actors...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Alex Sandell of Juicy Cerebellum (7/0)
            The Last Samurai looks perfect. Along with being visually stunning, the movie is peppered with a...

By Andrea Chase of Killer Movie Reviews (7/0)
             a puffed up popcorn flick that is not without a certain kitschy charm

By Robert Roten of Laramie Movie Scope (7/0)
            It isn't as great as the best Japanese Samurai films, but it is certainly a worthy addition to a ...

By Carol Cling of Las Vegas Review-Journal (7/0)
            ... yet another in a seemingly endless line of Hollywood extravaganzas about clashing cultures an...

By Jon Niccum of Lawrence Journal-World (7/0)
            Algren’s story builds to a profound, resonant end — then it goes on for another 10 minutes.

By Manohla Dargis of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            Taken on the level of spectacle rather than of sense, The Last Samurai affords the sort of fizzy ...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Austin O'Connor of Lowell Sun (7/0)
            [B]ig and beautiful, even if it’s hard to shake the feeling that we’ve seen this dance before.

By Randy Shulman of Metro Weekly (Washington, DC) (7/0)
            Cruise isn’t a strong enough actor to vanish into the role -- his contemporary appeal burns throu...

By Gabriel Shanks of Mixed Reviews (7/0)
            Lacking authenticity, history, or understanding of its subject, Zwick, Cruise and Company have si...

By Susan Granger of Modamag.com (7/0)
            Isn't it finally Tom's turn for an Oscar?

By Kevin N. Laforest of Montreal Film Journal (7/0)
            Try as he might, Ed Zwick is no Kurosawa; heck, he’s barely on the level of Teenage Mutant ...

By Ken Hanke of Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (7/0)
            Proves the truth of Mr. Gilbert's lyrics about people who wouldn't be missed, and includes person...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Frank Ochieng of Movie Eye (7/0)
            ...aesthetically grand and meditative...begs to be in the tradition of these resilient, action-pa...

By Marty Mapes of Movie Habit (7/0)
            Succeeds as a well-told tale of Japan and America on the cusp of a new era

By Kevin A. Ranson of MovieCrypt.com (7/0)
            ... the honor and meaning behind [the film] is the very point of the story, so everyone involved ...

By Jan Stuart of Newsday (7/0)
            Through it all, Tom Cruise stares soulfully past the camera, on toward a catering truck where sus...

By Jeffrey Westhoff of Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) (7/0)
            The purity of Cruise's anguish and Watanabe's nobility carries the drama.

By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (7/0)
            A prestige product, the very embodiment of good taste...Ultimately, however, the hackneyed story ...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Mark Sells of Oregon Herald (7/0)
            A harrowing tale of honor, simple beauty, self-discovery, and ferocious conviction.

By Wesley Lovell of Oscar Guy (7/0)
            Cruise is wasted on this American samurai tale. The movie is pretty to look at but lacks substanc...

By Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews (7/0)
            Well made hokum.

By Tyler Hanley of Palo Alto Weekly (7/0)
            It may not make the Oscar cut, but nine bucks is a small price to pay for tradition and a charism...

By Mike Sage of Peterborough This Week (7/0)
            It’s going to be an uphill battle for those fierce elves, dwarves and wizards to overcome these f...

By Sean Burns of Philadelphia Weekly (7/0)
            Alas, Tom's ego has landed. It's the kind of obsequious, star-f%@!ing glory-hole Cruise has been...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Jon Popick of Planet Sick-Boy (7/0)
            A lot of stuff you've seen a hundred times in other movies, all fronted by a guy who has played t...

By James Kendrick of Q Network Film Desk (7/0)
            a deeply nostalgic and sentimental film, one that holds fast to the notion that there can be hono...

By Linda Cook of Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) (7/0)
            While it contains more than a hint of “Dances With Samurai” or “The Last Shogun,” “The Last Samur...

By Mark R. Leeper of rec.arts.movies.reviews (7/0)
            The battle scenes are splendid, the script is not.

By David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews (7/0)
            The movie has "prestige project" written all over it, and while it's certainly not a bad movie, i...

By Scott Huber of Reel.com (7/0)
            Resplendent and deep, The Last Samurai is an unforgettably fantastic actioner.

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Laura Clifford of Reeling Reviews (7/0)
            Zwick knows the importance of conveying military strategy to the audience

By Robin Clifford of Reeling Reviews (7/0)
            With The Last Samurai Zwick shows, once again, that he has a talent approaching Akira Kurosawa in...

By John P. McCarthy of ReelTalk Movie Reviews (7/0)
            A handsome historical saga combining violent warfare and Eastern spirituality.

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (7/0)
            The Last Samurai earns every minute of its near two-and-one-half hour running length. There's no ...

By Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (7/0)
            The script lays on hokey narration and bombastic dialogue.

By Harry Guerin of RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) (7/0)
            Some will say this blockbuster's title should be Dances With Samurai, but the performances of the...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com (7/0)
            A benumbed epic with an action figure for a hero.

By Jean Lowerison of San Diego Metropolitan (7/0)
            With all its faults, The Last Samurai is recommended for its look and for its depiction of the wa...

By Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle (7/0)
            Made at a time of global anxiety, The Last Samurai is all about America's fear of its own pow...

By William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            ...filled with exhilarating, gruesomely beautiful battle sequences and stylish nods to the great ...

By Rich Cline of Shadows on the Wall (7/0)
            The film also looks amazing, with spectacular New Zealand scenery standing in for 19th century Ja...

By Nick Schager of Slant Magazine (7/0)
            A squishy, serious-minded lesson about embracing one’s heritage and cherishing the virtues of val...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (7/0)
            A remarkable and exquisitely rendered drama that mixes the raw savagery of war with magical momen...

By Rob Blackwelder of SPLICEDWire (7/0)
            Perhaps the title Dances with Samurai was already taken...

By Michael Drakulich of Star Newspapers (Chicago, IL) (7/0)
            Any exhibition of tenderness or subtlety is followed by scenes that are logically inconsistent or...

By Nick Rogers of State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) (7/0)
            Tom Cruise and $140 million might get you a marathon movie, but The Last Samurai lacks the little...

By Tony Toscano of Talking Pictures (U.S.) (7/0)
            ...well worth your time to see.

By Dustin Putman of TheMovieBoy.com (7/0)
            The Last Samurai is so built on common Hollywood movie cliches and superficial, jingoistic messag...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone of TheMovieChicks.com (7/0)
            Doesn't deserve all the hype it's getting, but kudos for the battle scenes, the cinematography, t...

By Scott Nash of Three Movie Buffs (7/0)
            Entertaining at times.

By Audrey Rock-Richardson of Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah) (7/0)
            The most staggeringly beautiful cinematography of the year makes The Last Samurai a visual feast.

By Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide's Movie Guide (7/0)
            An honorable film hamstrung by Hollywood conventions.

By Enrique Buchichio of Uruguay Total (7/0)
            Quien quiera ver una verdadera película de samuráis deberá ver la obra del maestro Akira Kurosawa...

By Mike Clark of USA Today (7/0)
            ...it never recovers from its failure to grip or engage in the early going.

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Jeffrey Chen of Window to the Movies (7/0)
            It's like Samurai 101: here are the samurai; here is their way of life; here is what makes them s...

By John Beifuss of Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            Another Hollywood epic that shows that nobody embodies the nobility of an exotic foreign culture ...

By Elvis Mitchell of New York Times (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            The uneven Samurai is a can-do movie that's far more effective at communicating emotion in bi...

By Phil Villarreal of Arizona Daily Star (3/4) No reference
            It cost $120 million, and every cent of that was needed to overcome the ridiculous concept of a s...

By Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of Atlanta Journal-Constitution (3/4) No reference
            ...a handsome, well-crafted production...

By Christopher Smith of Bangor Daily News (Maine) (5/2) No reference
            It's a film at war with itself. Worse, it's a mixed bag of carefully packaged entertainment, wit...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By James Hill of BET.com (3/4) No reference
            For all its offensive racial assumptions, stereotypes and White wish fulfillment, it's hard to de...

By Roger Ebert of Boston Globe (3/4) No reference
            Its power is compromised only by an ending that sheepishly backs away from what the film is reall...

By Wade Major of Boxoffice Magazine (3/4) No reference
            An enjoyable and meticulously crafted but altogether shameless facsimile of no fewer than three O...

By Rob Thomas of Capital Times (Madison, WI) (3/4) No reference
            You're 'Shogun' like it!

By Pablo Villaca of Cinema em Cena (3/4) No reference
            É como se, envergonhado pela falta de integridade artística de John Logan, o próprio filme houves...

By Bill Pearis of Citysearch (3/4) No reference
            Delivers thrilling action, gorgeous cinematography, beautiful locations and Oscar-worthy performa...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Harvey S. Karten of Compuserve (3/4) No reference
            Good battle scenes but leans on Hollywood formula.

By Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing (3/4) No reference
            That maxim about familiarity breeding contempt doesn't apply here: For all its recognizable trapp...

By Robert Denerstein of Denver Rocky Mountain News (3/4) No reference
            The movie's worth seeing for scenery, costumes, exoticism and a final battle sequence that more t...

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (6/1) No reference
            The plot is very familiar here, and despite his best efforts, Cruise seems very out of place. Yet...

By Sean O'Connell of Eclipse Magazine (3/4) No reference
            Possesses a well-developed role for Tom Cruise, but dabbles in reheated concepts pulled from simi...

By David Foucher of EDGE Boston (6/1) No reference
            Edward Zwick and Tom Cruise deliver an energetic and compelling film in Last Samurai. It's not a...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Vince Koehler of Entertainment Spectrum (3/4) No reference
            Tom Cruise scores a hit in a great film with action and good story with characters you care about...

By Staci Layne Wilson of Fantastica Daily (3/4) No reference
            The Last Samurai is a nearly perfect example of its genre and is certainly one of the best offeri...

By Rick Kisonak of Film Threat (3/4) No reference
            A merciless combination of wooden acting, borrowed themes, predictable developments, epic pretens...

By MaryAnn Johanson of Flick Filosopher (3/4) No reference
            [S]o innocuous that it’s barely even there, blending into the beige walls of inoffensive mediocri...

By Donald Munro of Fresno Bee (3/4) No reference
            A beautifully realized film except for the unfortunate postscript, in which even the godlike figu...

By Kit Bowen of Hollywood.com (3/4) No reference
            Although the story and Tom Cruise's performance lack punch, The Last Samurai makes up for its sho...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Bruce Kirkland of Jam! Movies (3/4) No reference
            Everything looks authentic and is performed for a sense of realism, so the fanciful story seems p...

By Louis B. Hobson of Jam! Movies (3/4) No reference
            The battle sequences in The Last Samurai are among the most impressive in recent memory.

By James Sanford of Kalamazoo Gazette (6/1) No reference
            exciting, opulent -- and deeply flawed... While 'Samurai' entertains, it's never terribly credibl...

By Robert W. Butler of Kansas City Star (3/4) No reference
            A grand adventure, thrillingly told.

By Danny Minton of KBTV-NBC (Beaumont, TX) (3/4) No reference
            Whether it’s Ninjas vs. Samurai or Samurai vs. Imperial Japan – the fighting is spectacular.

By Bob Strauss of Los Angeles Daily News (3/4) No reference
            Magnificent combat sequences, photographed with spectacular verve and emotional intelligence by B...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Matt Easterbrook of Matt's Movie Reviews (3/4) No reference
            If there was any justice in the world (and if there were no such thing as The Return Of The King)...

By Duane Dudek of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (6/1) No reference
            As often happens with fish-out-of-water tales, the story becomes less about those being observed ...

By Jeff Strickler of Minneapolis Star Tribune (3/4) No reference
            As the story evolves into a drama with as much heart as muscle, Cruise adapts with it.

By Nell Minow of Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies (6/1) No reference
            A grand and eminently watchable epic with no expense spared, ambitious in scope, thoughtful in ex...

By Michael Elliott of Movie Parables (6/1) No reference
            An interesting though overlong film that doesn't engage the viewer as well as it might.

By Jorge Avila Andrade of Moviola (6/1) No reference
            'Claro ejemplo de lo que Hollywood es capaz de hacer cuando se lo propone: un cine de alto nivel,...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By James Rocchi of Netflix (3/4) No reference
            Going beyond just Tom Cruise in "Dances with Shogun," the blend of many other movies makes for a ...

By Lou Lumenick of New York Post (3/4) No reference
            ...a pandering epic that's as phony as it is condescending.

By Stephen Whitty of Newark Star-Ledger (3/4) No reference
            It's not a great or even particularly provocative drama, but it is well made, and one that adult ...

By David Ansen of Newsweek (6/1) No reference
            There are pleasures to be had in the handsome, heroic The Last Samurai. But they're all on the su...

By Shawn Levy of Oregonian (3/4) No reference
            It's overlong and repetitive and doesn't quite get under the skin emotionally. But it builds to a...

By Roger Moore of Orlando Sentinel (3/4) No reference
            Grand and undersized, truncated and overlong, The Last Samurai reminds us just enough of what epi...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Steve Schneider of Orlando Weekly (3/4) No reference
            As Algren's fiercely principled captor-turned- mentor, Watanabe ultimately reveals himself to be ...

By Gary Thompson of Philadelphia Daily News (3/4) No reference
            The samurai rebellion is an actual (and complex) historical event given fictional (and simplified...

By Forrest Hartman of Reno Gazette-Journal (6/1) No reference
            [Director Edward] Zwick has created is a samurai picture for the masses.

By Jack Garner of Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (6/1) No reference
            Tom Cruise stars at his forceful, charismatic best, while director Edward Zwick contributes the s...

By Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (3/4) No reference
            ...the script lays on hokey narration and bombastic dialogue.

By Joe Baltake of Sacramento Bee (6/1) No reference
            The film belongs to Watanabe, who either steals it from the star or is generously handed it by Cr...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Jim Lane of Sacramento News & Review (6/1) No reference
            Besides Toll, the cinematographer, Watanabe is the main reason to see The Last Samurai.

By Sean Means of Salt Lake Tribune (3/4) No reference
            The battle scenes, especially, are a visual feast in the tradition of Spartacus and Braveheart.

By David Elliott of San Diego Union-Tribune (3/4) No reference
            The movie has breadth and beauty, and a Japanese zeal for quality in details.

By Moira MacDonald of Seattle Times (4/3) No reference
            As movie-star vehicles go, Last Samurai is a fine, well-crafted example.

By Peter Bernard of South Florida Sun-Sentinel (3/4) No reference
            The action scenes are graphic and thoroughly convincing.

By Gerry Shamray of Sun Newspapers of Cleveland (6/1) No reference
            The Last Samurai is easily Tom Cruise's best film and performance in quite awhile.

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Annette Dasey of Teletext (3/4) No reference
            Before you can say "I'm turning Japanese I really think so" he’s learnt the way of the samurai an...

By John A. Nesbit of ToxicUniverse.com (6/1) No reference
            Tom Cruise delivers much more for the samurai than Kevin Costner did for Native Americans a decad...

By Desson Thomson of Washington Post (3/4) No reference
            Despite its intelligent agenda, swollen heart and fabulously epic surface, amounts to a didactic ...

By Lance Goldenberg of Weekly Planet (Tampa, FL) (3/4) No reference
            ...doesn't seem particularly interested in the nuances and points of frisson that are bound to oc...

By Michael Szymanski of Zap2it.com (5/2) No reference
            Tom Cruise has never made an epic film that's in the same class of "Lawrence of Arabia" -- that i...

By Lawrence Toppman of Charlotte Observer (6/1) Not Reachable
            Toll's subtle cinematography and the forceful performances persuade us that we're in a real, unus...

                         Reviews of Last Samurai, The
By Aaron Lazenby of E! Online (6/1) Not Reachable
            For some reason, Cruise seems to have confused the art of acting with the act of looking at somet...

By Aaron Lazenby of filmcritic.com (6/1) Not Reachable
            The Last Samurai might have been designed to give Cruise a chance to shine, but to the detriment ...

By Connie Ogle of Miami Herald (6/1) Not Reachable
            Too much surface and not enough depth.

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (3/4) Not Reachable
            ...The Last Samurai already has a spot reserved on my end-of-the-year Top 10 list.

By Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) of St. Paul Pioneer Press (3/4) Not Reachable
            Zwick ... has crafted a handsome movie (it's set in the Land of the Rising Sun, but the sunsets a...

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Warner Bros. Pictures