THE LAST SAMURAI [2003] Tom Cruise ; R 15

Captain Nathan Algren, a burnt out remnant of the American civil war, essentially a ghost of the man he once was. After taking on the task of training Japans new army, for the purposes of wealth, he ends up becoming the captive of his employers enemy. Over time he comes to rediscover himself, finding fresh strength and courage in his newly regained honour and sense of cause. This film, Cruise's follow up to Spielberg's 'Minority Report', not only gives its leading man a sturdy platform to perform on, but also lets him prove once and for all that his status as Hollywood's biggest star, is totally deserved. 'The Last Samurai' is practically flawless in every sense, a strong, deep and character driven story packaged together with the most expertly crafted cinematography since 'Shindler's List'. The pace of the movie, though on the odd occasion unnecessarily held back, is masterfully set, allowing each scene to move effortless from the previous, which as a result makes a relatively long film, fly by. The other thing that looks set to put the film in good stead with traditionalists (The Oscar board) is the fact that the film is almost completely un-scathed by the touch of CGI. Cruise surrounds himself with an excellent supporting cast, allowing his star power to be perfectly balanced out by un-deniably great performances across the board. If this film has proved anything, it is that Cruise can pull off an Epic just as well as he can say, a 'Mission Impossible' movie. If you're to see anything this January, it should be this.

5/5