By TIM DAVID HARVEY
(Our #SceneStealing feature returns and takes it back to 2003 with Tom Cruise and 'The Last Samurai'. WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.)
"I will miss our conversations."
Once more unto the breach my friend. Even if the sight of Maverick 'Top Gun' actor Tom Cruise in Samurai armour like a floppy haired and unshaven Keanu Reeves in the mystical '47 Ronin' had comedy legend Paul Mooney making cultural appropriation jokes ahead of its Twitter time on the classic 'Chappelle's Show'. "Hollywood is crazy. First they had 'The Mexican' with Brad Pitt. And now they've got 'The Last Samurai' with Tom Cruise. We'll I've written a movie, maybe they'll produce my film. 'The Last (word I can't and would never say) On Earth', starring Tom Hanks. How about that?" But in this legendary movie from the art of war 'Glory' of 'Legends Of The Fall', 'Courage Under Fire' and 'Blood Diamond' director Edward Zwick (who would later reunite with Cruise on the 'Jack Reacher' sequel, 'Never Go Back'), Cruise's ex Captain American character in his last stand is in the halfway house between Kevin Costner's 90's epic, 'Dances With Wolves' and Jared Leto's criminally underrated and cultural appropriation claimed (he plays an American people...you had me not watching it for years) Netflix Yakuza movie, 'The Outsider', set in cinematography compelling 1950's Osaka in Japan. Just like he is between the 7th Cavalry and the Japanese Imperial Soldiers he's tasked to train to kill the very Samurai he's now, horse drawn standing beside. Hungover after resorting to giving punch drunk gun demonstrations, as he spins his blunderbuss like Channing Tatum's 'Golden Circle', 'Kingsman' sequel character, trying to shoot through his trauma, Tom responds to the call of duty. But for how long in this 'Mission Impossible'?
Billy Connelly has already told Hollywood's most famous actor to, "shove it up his a##"-with all due respect mind-to Cruise's request for the great Scot comedian to fall back and retreat. Timothy Spall has already introduced Tom to Yokohama, a place this writer also named Tim now calls home. Although he doesn't recognize the traditional one here like the new Tokyo in the 'Pacific Rim' sequel 'Uprising' starring John Boyega, Scott Eastwood and Rinko Kikuchi. In this Tom Cruise movie, Zwick has already introduced us to Japanese legends Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada like he did Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman in Matthew Broderick's 'Glory' road. Before Watanabe, after his conversations with Cruise played a trick on us in 'Batman Begins', had his dreams invaded by Christopher Nolan in 'Inception' too and starred in the Hollywood 'Godzilla' movies just to utter that name aswell as Japanese classics like 'Memoirs From A Geisha', Clint Eastwood's other side to his 'Flags Of Our Fathers' story, 'Letters From Iwo Jima' and last year's, 'Fukushima 50'. Or 'The King and I' on Broadway. Before Sanada after handing Cruise his a## for most of the movie (finally in grunting approval being impressed with this America's fight in a scene as rain soaked iconic as Tokyo neon reflecting in a Shibuya crossing puddle), sword sliced his way through two Marvel movies, going up against Hugh Jackman's 'Wolverine' and Jeremy Renner's Ronin in 'Avengers: Endgame' in Tokyo. Or 'The Twilight Samurai' star starring in everything from, 'Rush Hour 3' to 'Mr. Holmes', 'Minions' to 'Life' and '47 Ronin' to the forthcoming 'Mortal Kombat' movie. Finish him! All in this perfect period piece and one of the last great westerns before the neo age like Watanabe's 'Unforgiven' with Eastwood and Freeman, and Cruise has seemingly grasped the Japanese language in a Disney montage of scenes like this writer can't even manage after a year in the Far East (apparently I've been saying, "thank you, it's time to eat" for years, thank you very much) and fallen in love with model actress Koyuki (well anyone would after mere minutes) like this writer can't begin to find out here on Bumble. In this beautiful and brutal movie, timeless and traditional, we even get to see this Samurai practice his martial arts that leaves him as comic relief, endearingly embarrassed as this writer singing karaoke (without the endearing). But now in this last dance like Michael Jordan busting your a## for 60 these men face a fallout that looks ready to self destruct like this message in five seconds.
Canons chop down this brave battalion as they advance for the last time. Sanada's Samurai soldier, camouflaged in braveheart blood already spilling his last. Although Cruise gets revenge for his fallen new friend. Javelin throwing his blade at 'Ghost' and 'Nixon' actor Tony Goldwyn doing his best Ed Harris impression, right between the heart like he was auditioning for a personal best in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics next year. But in this track and field cavalry charge, the Imperial fleet are about to bring out the big guns like Schwarzenegger, terminating everything in sight as the sound of roaring defiance is drowned out by artillery. Whoever said, "all is fair in love and war" has never faced heartbreak or a Gatling gun as this one tears everyone apart, falling from their horses as round after round of ammuntion is pushed through its chamber like vegetables through a blender and the weapon that could kill hundreds in seconds is worked with the ease of turning a Grandfather clock. Just another example of old men sending young men to their deaths with a stroke of their pen. Like Masato Harada playing another Japanese villain obsessed with the West and demanding that fallen soldiers be shown no mercy as they die three years later again in Jet Li's iconic 'Fearless' final martial arts stand. Just like in this one in the killing fields were the bravest men (much more than his character) who overcome all the odds are mowed down by cowards from a distance before they advance get the chance to look them in their eyes. They may as well have stabbed them in the back...because they practically did. It's enough to drive anyone to shame. Like the captain who embarrassed in lump in his throat, choked up emotion, delivering one of the most moving moments of the movie were I'm all faucets orders a ceasefire despite Harada's characters crazy craving for blood and bodies. Despite the cruelty of carnage (this Trump before his time has obviously never read or heard of the Geneva Convention...do you know what I'm saying Donald?). This captain then in respect leads a charge in the other side taking a knee out of respect (you hear THAT?!) and bowing before these suicidal Samurai. Putting their lives on the line for so much more as Tom's character helps Ken's perform Seppuku as beautiful cherry blossom blooms and falls around them like the changing of the seasons. "Perfect" Watanabe with teary, wide eyes says in his dying moments on life's vine. "They are all perfect". As later Cruise presents the same sword to a young Emperor, played perfectly by Nakamura Shichinosuke II. Offering to fall on it with the respect of their tradition, the Emperor refuses this leading man's request like he does the one from American's for a traditional Japan to be modernised by the modern West before its time. "Tell me how he died" he orders with compassion, kneeling down to a bowing Cruise. Tom simply replies in a movie that does the same in history for the storied samurai, "I will tell you how he lived."
No comments:
Post a Comment