By the standards of modern Hollywood, Last Samurai is excellent. Set in the 19th Century, Tom Cruise plays an American soldier, haunted by memories of the atrocities he took part in against native americans (Sand Creek?), whereupon he accepts an assignment to Japan, to put down a supposed rebellion by a band of Samurai who have gone to war against the Emperor's troops, believing that they are in fact serving the Emperor in doing so. Cruise's character is captured, and ends up associating with the Samurai, in a plot that is reminiscient of Dances With Wolves, but manages to avoid feeling overly hackneyed and stale. Cruise is suicidal as a result of being unable ...  Read the complete review

Introduction --------------- Civil War veteran Nathan Algren is hired to train the new Japanese army in their battle against the Samurai, who are fighting against the westernisation of Japan. Captured by the Samurai, he learns to respect their ways. The Cast ----------- OK, let me be upfront about one thing: I can’t stand Tom Cruise. It’s nothing to do with the whole Katie Holmes/sofa thing , I’ve never liked him, or bought into the whole “he’s a good actor” idea. This is not a film that’s going to change my mind about him. Cruise completely fails to convince as the alcoholic, washed up Civil War Vet he’s meant to be playing. Similarly his ...  Read the complete review

Ok, I don't like Tom Cruise as an actor very much, but this is one of my favourite films and his performance is astounding. Cruise plays a Captain in the Americn army (Nathan Algren), who, during the Civil War, was forced by his commanding officer to kill innocent Native Americans. He has always regretted this, and falls deeper into the bottle to find a way free. He is then offered a position training the Japanese army to fight against the Samurai. He is lured in by the prospect of a high wage, and during the first battle is made captive by the Samurai, led by a man known as Katsumoto. He is a brave and honourable man, and tells Algren he cannot leave until ...  Read the complete review

The Last Samurai is more than just a well-crafted action film; it is an elegiac goodbye wave to the samurai films that just aren't made anymore, chiefly the ones made by Kurosawa such as Seven Samurai, and just as worthily, his masterful Kagemusha. Despite the odd casting of Tom Cruise, this film works more than it doesn't, and features typically great direction from Edward Zwick. It is clear that Zwick has a real passion for this subject, and he's accompanied by a hefty collection of game collaborators, including composer Hans Zimmer, actor Ken Watanabe (who quite rightly recieved an Oscar nomination for his performance), and master cinematographer John Toll. ...  Read the complete review

When I hear the words "Tom Cruise" my instinctive reaction is to change channel, close my eyes, run away or pull the plug out of the mains. He is one of my least favourite actors of all time, and I normally avoid anything and everything with his, so I'm not entirely sure how I ended up watching "The Last Samurai" a 2003 film where Cruise plays the main character (it must have been some sort of memory black-out). However for the most part I'm glad that I went against my initial reaction as I enjoyed the film and even (while it's almost painful to say) I enjoyed Tom Cruise's performance. The Last Samurai is based in the late nineteenth ...  Read the complete review