Movie Review: 47 Ronin

47 Ronin (2013)

A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun.  Short synopsis of 47 Ronin taken from IMDb.com

My newer reviews are all quite brief, I know.  That may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point-of-view.

I read reviews of 47 Ronin before seeing it that made me cross my fingers before actually viewing it.  But after watching the film, I must say it really wasn't that bad.  The story is really a classic "save the princess"-type tale.  Of course, at the end, before the credits roll, a message comes on screen which says the movie was "based upon" the story of the actual forty-seven ronin, which leads me to believe the story has been altered somewhat for its Hollywood-ization.  I am now curious as to how the story really goes.



I Googled Ronin and this came up.  The difference between a Ronin and a Samurai is difficult to tell (for me, an amateur) just from appearances.  I was kinda hoping Ronin would wear a name tag that identified them in big red letters.  Something like "RONIN". / Source: Twitter.com

So... highlights time!  The lord being disgraced after the visiting noble's witch enchants him and he goes and strikes an unarmed guest with his sword because he thinks the man is taking advantage of his own daughter... that was a cool scene.  I also liked how the witch changed into a dragon in the concluding scenes of the film.  Most of the stuff with the witch was good, in fact.  And the witches appearance...  I forget what they call it when someone has one eye of one color and one of another, and of course you can do that these days with colored contact lenses.  But still, that was cool.

Reeves performance was a bit wooden, but since he was playing the role of a half-breed in Japanese society, it wasn't too offensive for me.  I mean, Japanese culture sometimes comes off a bit wooden in movies anyway, though I always liked the way The Seven Samurai shows the characters in a very different light.  Of course, Japanese culture itself is not wooden, but to a westerner, it is certainly different, and the social rules seem so much more formalized.

The actress who plays the witch in 47 Ronin, Rinko Kikuchi, is not naturally heterochromia (or having one eye one color and the other another).  However, the contact lens used to do it, along with Ms. Kikuchi's overall performance, gives her just the right air of spookiness, in my opinion. / Source: moviecitizens.com

Anyway, my point is, 47 Ronin was well worth the Redbox price, and I'm glad I watched it.  Violence abounds, so it is probably not appropriate for younger viewers.  The hallucinated rape scene I mentioned above is also disturbing, but not too graphic, thankfully.  And though the film lacks actual graphic nudity, the witches wanton behavior is certainly notable (I guess the point is that she is evil, and evil ain't no prude, yes?).  But all things considered, I'd say 47 Ronin was a fun nearly two hour diversion, and I'd recommend it to those who like action flics with a samurai flare.  But don't expect deep historical fiction here.  James Clavell's Shogun it ain't.

The parting comment:




Source: LOLSnaps.com

And this just in: Keanu Reeves may in fact be immortal.  And not in the whole "I am Neo/Hello Mr. Anderson"- way you might have thought.