3.5/4  When gun meets sword
If I had only seen the last half hours of the movie I would still call it "Incredible." I simply adore a good movie where the Protagonist and the Antagonist switch places. One minute you're routing for this team, and the next for the oth... (read full)

3/4  A MAN CAN CHANGE
Once again, a man's life had undergone a total paradigm shift. Captain NATHAN ALGREN (TOM CRUISE) as the disillusioned ex-United States Army Captain, was originally hired to train a group of western-influenced Imperial Japanese Army throug... (read full)

3.5/4  I carry a Samurai in my heart.
I tell you what's going on with this flick. Happends that's Cruise on it. Whom I used to like, but now not too much. So, why so good? Well, because it has a fantastic premise, a really wonderful music and, oh! a great direction. Yes sir. D... (read full)

4/4  The Last Samurai Quick Review
This was a very powerful movie. There really isn't words you just have to see it. One of Tom Cruise's best roles.

3/4  The Last Samurai Quick Review
A good turn from Tom Cruise elevates this above a typical war/historic movie. I also appreciate how it treats the samurai way of life - with genuine respect. Rarely do you see honor and tradition look so well on film.

3/4  The Last Samurai Quick Review
This movie is just good. Tom Cruise spits out dialog like its the 21st century and some how does not die at the end. Other than that, it does a great job of showing the samurai culture as well as displaying action and drama.

5/5 Excelent movie and photograph
  by Wilhem Gonzalez (Mexico City)
What a great movie the lands japan it's so beautiful in HD Blue Ray great disc.

5/5 Tom Cruise's best.
  by Ben (Woodbury, Mn USA)
The Last Samurai is an outstanding film that tells the fictional story of Captain Nathan Algren (Cruise), a soldier haunted by regrets hired to train raw Japanese recruits to fight the Samurai, and Samurai leader Katsumoto (Watanabe), who is leading a rebellion in Japan against those who he believes are westernizing the country too quickly. Algren ends up becoming a prisoner of the Samurai, but after spending a number of months as their captive, subsequently finds peace in their way of life. Eventually, he joins forces with the men he was hired to fight against.

Not only is the plot interesting and original, but the performances of the actors are nothing short of amazing. Tom Cruise puts forth an outstanding effort, which I consider his best ever. Ken Watanabe is perfect as Katsumoto, commanding even more attention than Cruise, and all of the secondary characters are equally convincing in their roles. Some of the highlights include Koyuki as Taka, Hiroyuki Sanada as Ujio, and Timothy Spall as Simon Graham.

The execution of the battle scenes was excellent. This can be attributed to a cast full of professional sword-fighters as extras and Cruise and Watanabe doing all their own stunts. As seen in the extras, the progression of Cruise's skills with a sword isn't staged, either. Sanada and others spent hours working with him every day until he could handle a blade with precision.

Having seen this film a dozen times, I can also say I honestly am not able to find many mistakes in the filming and editing, either. The ones I have noticed are hidden well, and none of them take away from the film in any way. There are a few lines in the script that come across as slightly bland or predictable, but overall the script is very well written. Tom Cruise actually speaks Japanese in a handful of scenes, and he does it well.

What really makes the movie, on top of everything else, is the beautiful score composed by Hans Zimmer. Though he often recycles his scores and changes them very little, this one is unique and powerful.

The Last Samurai's historical accuracy isn't as poor as some reviewers would suggest, but it is a work of fiction. On the special edition of this DVD, 2 deleted scenes are included, along with "the filming of" one of the scenes, and "the filming of" the Cruise beheading scene. There is also a handful of interviews and a look at the real history of the decline of the Samurai in Japan.

All in all, The Last Samurai is an extremely entertaining and convincing film. The special edition of this DVD is well worth the extra few dollars, and it has become one of my all time favorite movies.

5/5 Blu-Ray Review
  by Walbert Matos
I'm gonna review the quality of the blu-ray version of this movie. I'm not gonna review the movie itself as there are enough reviews of it. The image quality is totally HD quality, image is crisp and detailed and the audio is superb. I'm not a fan of special features so I can't tell you if there are enough as I normally don't watch them unless there are deleted scenes or alternate endings. If you like this movie and you have an hdtv then this is a good purchase.

5/5 The Last Samurai... Dances with Samurai
  by Julian Kennedy (St Pete Florida)
The Last Samurai: 8 out of 10: I admit I greeted this movie with low expectations. The idea of Tom Cruise as the last Samurai was laughable. The movie completely suspended this disbelief right until the horribly awful last scene. Tom Cruise plays a drunken Civil War hero who hired by the Japanese government to modernize their army is captured by the Samurai rebels and falls in love with their doomed way of life.

And what a life. Every shot of the Samurai village is postcard perfect almost to the point of unintended parody. Like Robert Redford's take on Montana in "Legends of the Fall", every view is spectacular, every sunset is orange, every leaf is colorful and falls just so and all the characters are freshly scrubbed and dressed in their Sunday best. You wouldn't be half surprised to see Hobbits pop out at any moment. Of course the old time Samurai are romanticized to the nth degree. Historically the Samurai at this point resembled Afghan warlords resisting a long overdue central government rather than the honorable colorfully armored knights that are depicted. (Samurai no more wore armor in the late 18th century than the British army did.)

Yet the picture despite one or two faults works. The acting, with one exception is uniformly excellent. The battle scenes are plentiful and full of surprise and the pacing is good. On the dark side newcomer Nakamura Shichinosuke plays the Japanese emperor like he was channeling Michael Jackson. The voice and mannerisms of the gloved one is as out of place for a Japanese emperor than it would be for the Pope. His strangely self effacing dialogue doesn't help his cause, yet it truly is his performance that is cringe worthy. In addition the last scene is an awful Hollywood copout. I still recommend The Last Samurai highly however as a thinking mans action movie.

5/5 2 Thumbs UP
  by David Powers (Knoxville,TN)
This is one of the best action movies since interview with the vampire. Don't know how anyone can rate it less than 5 stars. Great drama/action. :)