The Last Samurai wants to be as important as Braveheart, but it’s not. It acts like it is, and sometimes is feels like it is, but it’s really just an empty shell in comparison. The Last Samurai is one of those great, epic war movies that’s simply not that great – and the fact that it tries so hard to be only seems to make it weaker.

The story concept, though noble in concept, is fairly simplistic. In 1876, Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is a U.S. military captain who has been successful in campaigns against the American Indians but feels remorse for the shedding of innocent blood he has caused. He is now hired by the Japanese government to train the Japanese army to fight against the rebellious Samurai, who are comparable to America’s Indians.

After an initial battle between the Japanese and the Samurai, Algren is captured by the enemy. Katsumoto (Ken Wanatabe) is impressed by the courageous American and spares his life. Alren is brought back to the village of the Samurai and lives among them for over a year. What we get is about an hour of Tom Cruise becoming “one” with the culture and coming to love and respect the people. It’s all beautifully shot and interesting for its cultural aspects, but ultimately less significant then it all acts like it is.

Then comes the inevitable. The Japanese army and the Samurai go at it again and this time Captain Algren is on the other side. I never figured out why exactly the two groups were battling in the first place, the film spends relatively little time on the matter. The funny part is that both groups claim to serve the Emperor, so it would seem as if the Emperor could have put a stop to it all if he wanted.

I think it was all supposed to be about some kind of honor. The Japanese are giving into the changing world developed by the West, while the Samurai seek to preserve the ancient traditions. As important as their culture may be to them, it just isn’t as strong as the real freedom that the Scottish were fighting for in Braveheart, and so never picks up the heart or passion that is necessary to create a memorable story.

The Last Samurai does have things to say though, and it makes sure that it says it – often in lines that are so calculated it gets dangerously close to being outright cheesy. Even still, there a lot of traditional Japanese values such as honor, courage, respect and inner peace are continual themes that, though failing to ever reach really a poignant effect, are still strong enough to lift the film beyond the level of common battlefield action flick.

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