Whereas Tom Cruise is finest identified today as a daredevil, an actor who’s greater than prepared to place his physique on the road for the right shot, one in every of his most formidable movies leaned much less on motion and extra on the emotion and soul behind the swordplay and stunts. Greater than twenty years after it was first launched in 2003, Edward Zwick‘s The Final Samurai is discovering a brand new viewers, because the 154-minute historic epic is seeing a resurgence on HBO Max.
Whenever you examine it to the high-flying motion, explosions and edge-of-your-seat thrills we have come to know Cruise for, it is onerous to think about audiences connecting in such a means with a slower, denser film like this — and the movie was certainly a U.S. field workplace flop upon launch (although it was notably profitable in Japan, the nation the place the movie is ready).
However viewers are rediscovering it, as a result of The Final Samurai belongs to a sort of blockbuster that the movie business is reluctant to make anymore: a large, earnest historic drama prepared to take time to construct its characters and never lean on motion. Cruise is the face of the film, which triggered a backlash towards the movie, with it being lambasted as a “white savior” narrative, however, in some ways, it’s an unfair criticism. The film star would be the face, however the supporting forged, together with Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada, are its beating coronary heart. The movie’s endurance comes from the mixture of the forged with the world that Zwick efficiently builds round them.
Tom Cruise Offers Certainly one of His Most Underrated Performances in ‘The Final Samurai’
The Final Samurai facilities on Nathan Algren (Cruise), a nineteenth century former United States Military captain who’s haunted by his experiences combating Native People, together with his participation in a bloodbath on an harmless village. Algren is a bitter alcoholic who turns into determined for cash and accepts a suggestion to journey to Japan to assist prepare the nation’s new Imperial Military in Western ways. Opposing him at first is Watanabe’s legendary samurai warrior Katsumoto, who’s combating the fast modernization of Japan, which he sees as an abandonment of the nation’s traditions.
After a gap battle that proves disastrous for Algren’s military, he’s captured by Katsumoto, who needs to study extra about who he’s opposing. Spending months dwelling amongst the Samurai, coaching with them, and studying their methods, Algren begins to query what he is aware of and believes about warfare and honor. With the assistance of Katsumoto, he learns how one can face the horrors of his previous, and Cruise’s efficiency in these scenes is the place the film actually shines.
Cruise sells the transformation from depressed soldier to a person at peace together with his previous as a result of he dials again the movie-star charisma. It is one of many actor’s most underappreciated performances, a task that always will get buried in his in depth and extra well-known filmography. Cruise’s Algren can deal with himself in battle, however The Final Samurai is way extra considering exploring how somebody handles their previous and learns how one can transfer ahead.
Ken Watanabe Is the Actual Coronary heart of ‘The Final Samurai’
The Final Samurai wouldn’t work with out Ken Watanabe’s Katsumoto to supply a stability to Cruise’s Nathan Algren. Katsumoto might simply have been an idealized warrior determine, however Watanabe provides him humor, curiosity, and surprising depth that gives the film’s emotional middle. The connection between the 2 males is the core of The Final Samurai‘s narrative, and a mutual respect develops between them as they converse about life and the way they each battle to grasp what of the worlds they know is value defending.
It is no shock that Watanabe earned an Academy Award nomination for this function, and it stays one in every of his most interesting performances, with a few of his strongest moments coming within the movie’s quietest scenes. Algren may be the principle character, however Katsumoto is the one who really turns into the “Final Samurai.” Even alongside his most delicate moments, his motion sequences — particularly the ultimate battle towards the Imperial Military — are a few of his finest scenes. As his band of samurai mount their cost that they know will possible result in their demise, Watanabe’s efficiency helps drill down simply how necessary that is to them, even when they die within the course of. The motion feels earned and has weight as a result of Katsumoto helps you absolutely perceive why they’re doing this.
This mixture of intimate character drama with monumental spectacle helps clarify why audiences are returning to The Final Samurai and reminding folks why this movie deserves consideration. Cruise has definitely made larger motion pictures and headlined large franchises like Mission Not possible and Prime Gun, however few of his motion pictures really feel this grand. When you’re a historical past buff, or simply within the temper for a grand epic, The Final Samurai stays one in every of Tom Cruise’s most rewarding movies.
