47 Ronin is a crazy fantasy retelling of (what else) the story of The 47 Ronin, adding in elements of Japanese folklore like witches, golems, and Tengu. As an adaptation of the actual story of the 47 Ronin, it admittedly sucks. But as a zany Japanese-centered fantasy flick, I had to admit I enjoyed it.
The film starts when we meet a young half-white, half-Japanese boy called Kai, who is taken in by the retainers of the kindly Lord Asano (Min Tanaka). Kai grows into a humble woodsman played by Keanu Reeves, who the Asano clan just barely tolerate. But when the evil Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano) has his witch servant Mizuki (Rinko Kikuchi) hypnotize Lord Asano into attacking Kira, the Shogun (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) orders Lord Asano to commit seppuku for the assault. Kai is sold into slavery, and Lord Asano's chief servant Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada) is imprisoned for a year. When Oishi escapes, he gathers Kai and 45 other Ronin to take revenge on Lord Kira.
What follows diverges even more heavily from the tale of the 47 Ronin, involving Oishi and Kai delving into a forest full of Tengu to retrieve enchanted blades with which to arm themselves for the final assault on Kira, who Mizuki protects with various magic spells. Many eyes of course rolled at Keanu Reeves' presence in the film, thinking that he was a white savior, but I was actually pleased to find that it's Sanada's Oishi that's leading our heroes on their quest. Reeves is a big part of the film, but Sanada is its center, and the two at one point have a splendid duel that showcases both actors' martial arts training. The various fantastical creatures — especially the Tengu and a vicious dragon — are all very memorable, and the special effects on them are as good as any I've seen.
Even the film's detractors tend to admit that the acting is good, and it is. Sanada and Tanaka are both wise and sympathetic, Reeves is appropriately stoic and angsty, and Asano and Kikushi are clearly having a lot of fun playing a pair of slimy villains. The characters they play are all fairly simple and two-dimensional, but hey, this ain't Shakespeare.
All things considered, I liked 47 Ronin. I'm a bit of a sucker for fantasy films (especially ones with dragons) and Samurai movies admittedly, but I enjoyed it in the same sense one would enjoy The Beastmaster or Van Helsing. It's not great, but it's a fun fantasy B-movie.
Film B-movie fun.
47 Ronin is a crazy fantasy retelling of (what else) the story of The 47 Ronin, adding in elements of Japanese folklore like witches, golems, and Tengu. As an adaptation of the actual story of the 47 Ronin, it admittedly sucks. But as a zany Japanese-centered fantasy flick, I had to admit I enjoyed it.
The film starts when we meet a young half-white, half-Japanese boy called Kai, who is taken in by the retainers of the kindly Lord Asano (Min Tanaka). Kai grows into a humble woodsman played by Keanu Reeves, who the Asano clan just barely tolerate. But when the evil Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano) has his witch servant Mizuki (Rinko Kikuchi) hypnotize Lord Asano into attacking Kira, the Shogun (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) orders Lord Asano to commit seppuku for the assault. Kai is sold into slavery, and Lord Asano's chief servant Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada) is imprisoned for a year. When Oishi escapes, he gathers Kai and 45 other Ronin to take revenge on Lord Kira.
What follows diverges even more heavily from the tale of the 47 Ronin, involving Oishi and Kai delving into a forest full of Tengu to retrieve enchanted blades with which to arm themselves for the final assault on Kira, who Mizuki protects with various magic spells. Many eyes of course rolled at Keanu Reeves' presence in the film, thinking that he was a white savior, but I was actually pleased to find that it's Sanada's Oishi that's leading our heroes on their quest. Reeves is a big part of the film, but Sanada is its center, and the two at one point have a splendid duel that showcases both actors' martial arts training. The various fantastical creatures — especially the Tengu and a vicious dragon — are all very memorable, and the special effects on them are as good as any I've seen.
Even the film's detractors tend to admit that the acting is good, and it is. Sanada and Tanaka are both wise and sympathetic, Reeves is appropriately stoic and angsty, and Asano and Kikushi are clearly having a lot of fun playing a pair of slimy villains. The characters they play are all fairly simple and two-dimensional, but hey, this ain't Shakespeare.
All things considered, I liked 47 Ronin. I'm a bit of a sucker for fantasy films (especially ones with dragons) and Samurai movies admittedly, but I enjoyed it in the same sense one would enjoy The Beastmaster or Van Helsing. It's not great, but it's a fun fantasy B-movie.