Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Drama
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rinko Kikuchi, Min Tanaka, Tadanobu Asano, Ko Shibasaki, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
Review: In feudal Japan, Lord Asano (Min Tanaka) rules his province with fairness. However, jealous Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano) fears that the shogun favors Asano over him and hatches a plot that ends with Asano's ritual suicide. After Asano's death, his samurai, led by Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), are forced to live as outcasts. Oishi wanders for several years but realizes that he must turn to Kai (Keanu Reeves), a mixed-blood warrior he once rejected, to help him and his ronin comrades take revenge on Lord Kira.
47 Ronin is quite a spectacle. Sometimes in a good way, and sometimes in a bad way. The visuals are beautiful, both in terms of the setting as well as some of the visual artistry brought to Keanu Reeves' Kai and Rinko Kikuchi's witch characters respectively. The basic premise is also very intriguing, and on paper reads like a film that has all the makings of a blockbuster. With that said, this movie just seemed very busy to me. You have a famous Japanese tale of the 47 ronin, but it's been muddied by the addition of witchcraft, unnecessary theatrics and special effects. The dialogue in this film is very cliché and predictable, and outside of some entertaining fight scenes, there's not a lot of other substance. I applaud this film for developing a compelling premise, but I think the execution was lacking. If you're a fan of Hiroyuki Sanada, give this movie a watch. He's definitely the bright spot here, excelling at both the electrifying samurai sequences, as well as exhibiting the most character growth. Keanu Reeves isn't as bad as some may lead you to believe. His character engages in some fun fight scenes as well, and while his dialogue is both minimal and shallow, that's not his fault by any means. If you're looking for a film void of clichés, simple dialogue, and a cloudy, anti-climactic plot, you may want to look elsewhere.
Fun Fact: Carl Rinsch clashed with Universal over the final vision of the film. Universal wanted to make an effects-driven fantasy blockbuster akin to Avatar (2009) or The Lord of the Rings trilogy, while Rinsch envisioned the film as more of a drama, such as Gladiator (2000), or Kingdom of Heaven (2005).