For Once, Cruise is Epic
Say what you want to about Tom Cruise. Maybe he has appeared in too many fluff films to count. Maybe he's cracked that famous smile once too many times for your liking, or told a joke that you just didn't find funny. Say what you want about Cruise, but just don't say that the man can't act. He's proved his entire his career that he can, starring in fluff films or not. With The Last Samurai, Cruise marks the best performance of his entire career. Cruise finally steps up and delivers in a film that is actually worth it. Of course, Cruise isn't the only thing going for this film. It has gorgeous scenery, excellent characters, and a compelling story that digs into the roots of Japanese culture.
Cruise plays Nathan Algren, a Captain in the U.S. Army that lead attacks on the Indians shortly after the Civil War. Japan is going through heavy political changes during this time period, and Algren is hired to train the Japanese military. The Japanese government is trying to exterminate the last of the samurai, who believe that Japan should stay with the old traditions and not advance. Algren trains the men, but is forced into battle before they are ready. The samurai come upon them and destroy the army, though they take Algren captive. Algren then lives with the samurai, learning their ways and customs. The transition he goes through is nothing short of amazing.
Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) is the leader of the samurai, and his talks with Algren give insight to both characters. This isn't a typical epic movie, where the only excitement takes place on the battlefield. Here, the audience is held captive throughout, since there are only two major battles, though they are interspersed with several action scenes. Of course, there are several action scenes that do show Cruise's character, in fact all of them do. Perhaps the most effective one has Algren picking up a wooden sword for the first time, and promptly being challenged by a veteran samurai. He tries to keep up, but the samurai sends him to the ground again and again with brutal blows. But Algren keeps getting up, no matter how hard he got hit.
My favorite part of this movie was seeing Cruise's character evolve into something far different from when the movie begins. At the beginning, he's drunk, and as he looks into a mirror, his eyes are soft and unsure. But at the conclusion of the film, as he gets ready for the battle of his life, his eyes are hard and resolute, he knows what he wants. Cruise displays his change in character with brilliance, which makes it the best performance of his career. Watanabe is also great as Katsumoto, who seems to realize that Algren would turn all along.
This is one of the very best movies of the year, for Cruise's performance as some of the most spectacular war sequences to be seen, topped only by the ones found in Return of the King.