47 Ronin (2013)

[baumer]

Discuss

[rukaio101]

Simultaneously one of the worst and best films I've seen this year. I don't mean that in a 'so bad it's good' way, I mean it feels like two different films, one great one shit, were jammed together in this film. One is the tale of the 47 Ronin as told in legend, a band of samurai who vow to avenge their master knowing, even if they succeed, they will die doing it. The other is bland Keanu Reeves being a bland outcast while having a bland cliche romance, with no chemistry, blandly. Guess which one is shit? Here's a clue. It's the one with Keanu Reeves.

 

I mean, my god Keanu is bad in this film. It's not an exaggeration to say the guy has the acting talent of a brick and less than half the emotional range. I honestly don't think his face changes a single time in the film. It doesn't help that the writing for his character is absolutely awful and he's in most of the film. Despite that, you could probably remove his character entirely and it wouldn't cause many story issues. Which is something I wish they'd done because, to be honest, the rest of the film is really really good.

 

Firstly, the set design is absolutely gorgeous in this film. Feudal Japan captured absolutely brilliant. It's easily the best set design I've seen this year and may be one of the best I've seen period. Secondly, Hiroyuki Sanada is absolutely enthralling as Oishi, who's pretty much the joint protagonist with Keanu and really should've just been the main protagonist. The emotional turmoil he goes through which he suffers with silent dignity makes such a contrast to Keanu's blandness. Despite how it's being marketed (something I'll get back to later), there's very little action, but when there is action it's very well done and reminiscent of classic Kurosawa samurai films. While, when there is CGI it's very noticeable, I can actually forgive it because the images they summon up are actually really cool and not your usually Hollywood Blockbuster fare. Heck, the entire film isn't your 'usual Hollywood fare'. It's unhesitatingly a Japanese samurai film which takes a lot from films like 13 Assassins and, of course, Akira Kurosawa films. It just so happens to have a bland Keanu Reeves movie sown in like some unwanted deformed Siamese twin.

 

That said, there's a lot of non-Keanu-related wasted possibilities in this film and they really don't take advantage of the new Fantasy setting. The big Silver Samurai you see in the posters could've been a great miniboss but he goes down ridiculously easy in the climax, without even fighting anyone.

 

Also, rather oddly, the badass-looking skeleton tattoo guy who seemed to appear in almost all the posters (even starring in some on his own) only had about 10 seconds of screentime. That isn't an exaggeration. He doesn't even do anything really important. You could've cut his scene and literally nothing would be lost. I don't think he even holds a gun like the posters show him doing. Why was this guy so heavily marketed while main character and villain Oishi and Kira respectively were barely mentioned? Aside from, obviously, Hollywood execs being racist fuckwads.

 

Anyway, if you love Kurosawa-esque samurai films and have a high tolerance for bland Keanu Reeves being bland, then I'd recommend this film. If you don't fulfil those very specific conditions, I'd probably give it a miss.

 

47 Ronin- A

Keanu Reeves's bland adventure of blandness- F

Overall film- B-

 

EDIT: I've just found that apparently executives insisted on more Keanu scenes and for the love story to be inserted. I am so very much not surprised.

Edited December 27, 2013 by rukaio101

[CJohn]

Just arrived from packed show of this. It was fucking great, IMO. A huge surprise in every way possible. I had a lot of fun with it, and my friends also liked it. Fuck the critics. But yeah, Keanu is a fucking tree. Nobody can touch him in that. He is amazing.

 

I am shocked they had the balls to go with that ending.

Edited December 30, 2013 by CJohn

[MrPink]

How does it end? If it ends with all off them committing seppuku, I can't say that's ballsy. That's one of the most important aspects of the actual 47 Ronin story

[CJohn]

How does it end? If it ends with all off them committing seppuku, I can't say that's ballsy. That's one of the most important aspects of the actual 47 Ronin story

Yes, it does, but this is Hollywood. I actually did not though that would happen. And one of them doesn't commit seppuku, by orders of the big dude in charge, but it is a minor character.

[MrPink]

Yes, it does, but this is Hollywood. I actually did not though that would happen. And one of them doesn't commit seppuku, by orders of the big dude in charge, but it is a minor character.

 

Also true to the legend. One of them actually lived on.

[The Panda]

"The way each and every one of them said their lines was as if I had put the words in google translate and let it read it for them, wait I take that back, google translate would have spoke with more emotion than any of the actors in the movie..."

Read more at

http://thepandaflicksreviews.blogspot.com/2013/12/47-rhonin-review.html

[baumer]

Mixed bag for me as well.  I've always enjoyed Keanu, but in this film his character is so one dimensional that it borders on absurd.  He never smiles, never laughs, never shows any kind of emotion other than that of consternation.  The action, when there is some, is really well done but the film moves a little slowly.  

 

I have to say I don't understand why the Ronin had to die.  They were avenging the death of their leader and the old dude knew that he was poisoned by the witch so why in the world did he require them to die?  And when they do fall on their swords, there is no emotion in that part.  It just happens.  If someone like Cameron or even Bay had done it, it would have been so much more meaningful.  But the director of this film was happy to just imply the deaths and then move on to the customary post script at the end.  

 

And the extra 3 bucks I paid for 3d in this is the worst way to spend $3.00 ever.  The 3D is non existent in here.  I took my glasses of about 15 minutes into the film.

 

6/10

Edited December 31, 2013 by Christmas baumer

[ladyevenstar22]

darn i got a little bit teary eyed at the end , that was some serious romantic rhethoric between kai and mika 

 

i agree not kiki's best performance but ehh i'll roll with his stoicism if that's what it was suppose to be ,  honor and duty and all that jazz 

 

its really a great story indeed even if execution script wise wasnt all that but the movie set design is just gorgeous 

i did like the foxy witch performance and role !

 

BAUMER 

at the end a voice over says they put their sense of duty honor and justice before their fear of death , basically it was a suicide mission , the point being they had to avenge their master death or they could not live in peace with themselves and the samurai code 

 

dying isnt the problem , its how you die with honor or shame ,i like that concept !

that's why ioshi (guy from helix tv show) begged for his men to be allowed to die with dignity beholded to their status as samurai / men of honor , the king whatever could have denied them and that would have been a worse fate than killing themselves 

they clearly were really big on morals /ethics 

 

i'll give it a B- , i enjoyed it well enough ....

 

 

i'd love to know more about how half-breeds were perceived , seems much like kids born from interracial couples like during segregation in america 

Edited March 23, 2014 by ladyevenstar22

[Omario]

Such a bad movie that barely made any sense. Was there even any point to Keanu Reeves character to be in this? What exactly did he contribute to the plot other than provide some swords. No true backstory or anything. 

 

D-

 

p.s  Ko Shibasaki is stunning!

[mcclaine]

There was a good film lost somewhere, between all the shitty effects and non sense. For one, the costume design was amazing, way better than The Lone Ranger, and that utter crap got an Oscar nomination for it. 

I like Keanu and i don't care if he's made out of wood or what, i like his screen presence.  I also like the real story of the 47 Ronin, but they killed the movie for me with all the supernatural crap. Those two worlds didn't mixed well for me.

 

6.5/10