Review of 47 Ronin (1994) by Harry W — 08 Jun 2014

Despite being a critically panned film which would go on to become the second biggest box office bomb of all time, I figured that a $225 million samurai film would be bound to have some kind of appeal to it.

I fully expected 47 Ronin to be a slowly paced film, because in actual fact one of the values of the samurai is patience. Audiences who appreciated the samurai for who they are and not just as generic action figures should be able to sit through 47 Ronin. I mean you can't deny the fact that it is a far from perfect film and that it has its flaws, but for what it's worth fans of samurai films should hopefully be able to find at least some value in 47 Ronin.

I feel as if one of the problems that so many people have with 47 Ronin is the fact that it attempts to integrate the traditional style of Samurai cinema with aspects of fantasy action adventure, but I found that to be possibly its finest attribute because I love both genres and was excited to see them combine. 47 Ronin took the elements of honour and meaningful storytelling from the Samurai Genre and added in fantasy adventure elements to increase the quantity of action and take a step away from being a generic story. While hundreds of other disagree, I feel as if it payed off to a certain extent because it meant that the action sequences could be both awesome sword fights and battles with mythological beasts. That is what the filmmakers aimed for and they reached it, and although they could have used a little bit more action in terms of quantity, the quality of the action is undeniable.

Unlike many other action films of modern day, 47 Ronin does not require an excessive quantity of visual effects or too much editing to make its action appear good. Instead, it mixes quality visual effects with excellently choreographed action moments which are filmed and edited well with fine sound effects against the backdrop of a tense musical score so that the quality of the battle in 47 Ronin is terrific and honours the kind of warriors that both the Samurai and the Ronin were.

Visually, 47 Ronin ensures that it spent its entire budget on the right technical aspects.

The scenery of 47 Ronin is incredible and gives the story a true sense of realism, and it adds a lot of incredible production design to enhance the cultural feeling of the film's time setting. And it becomes a great asset because the look of everything in 47 Ronin is spectacular. It is full of vibrant life and energy, and in a contemporary age where the quality of action films is decreasing with filmmakers becoming more and more reliant on excessive editing and use of visual effects it is great to see someone use contemporary techniques to enhance a classic style of action. If you go into 47 Ronin expecting a slow film with good action scenes, then you know what to expect. Although the action never really hits on the massive scale that it should for a film with the budget of $225 million and is scattered amongst the story, the quality of the scenes is terrific and makes the film worth a recommendation in my opinion.

The great flaw of 47 Ronin however comes from the nature of its story. 47 Ronin wants to be bother a big scale samurai action fantasy adventure film and a meaningful examination off Japanese culture, but director Carl Rinsch is unable to find the right balance to make it work. The characters in the film all end up one-dimensional and not all that compelling so it is hard to get attached to any of them. I mean I was able to find a connection to Kai but that was only because he was portrayed by Keanu Reeves whom I have a liking for. But the characters, like the story itself, are very thin and never really grasp the potential that they face. 47 Ronin could have been a meaningful story about honour and the virtues of bushido as well as the norm of Japanese culture, but it ends up as a thinly sketched adventure which doesn't go too many places or break new ground and simply attempts to disguise that underneath all of its visual elements. So 47 Ronin is a shallow film which has only as much depth as viewers want it to, and it shows that first-time director Carl Rinsch has an eye for great visual elements but lacklustre storytelling.

In short, 47 Ronin is appealing as a visual experience but the same can not be said for the quality of its story because it is thin, and the massive budget of the film proved to be rather overkill. But for what its worth, it has the visual excellence and action to please as well as a talented cast who manage to make the most of their one-dimensional roles.

Keanu Reeves is actually a great casting decision for the lead of Kai in 47 Ronin. As he recently made his directional debut with Man of Tai Chi, he revealed his understanding of Asian culture in cinema and therefore his role as the heroic leader Kai in 47 Ronin is easy to see him as. Although his performance isn't perfect, he captures a heroic sense of honour for the role and leads the journey with natural strength. And during the action scenes he puts up a hell of a fight and grasps his sword as if he has spent years training for the role. Keanu Reeves is a fine hero in 47 Ronin, and although he may not have been the marketing ploy that the advertisers needed, it is one of his best action films in years.

Hiroyuki Sanada's performance is a powerful one as well. Teaming up with Keanu Reeves, the two of them make a pair of fierce action heroes for 47 Ronin and they pack good punch. Hiroyuki Sanada gives a strong supporting effort in 47 Ronmin and is able to transcend the thin nature of his character.

And as always, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa makes a nice supporting effort as an antagonist since it is a part that he always steps into well with ease. Overall the cast all make a fine effort in 47 Ronin.

So despite the story being very thin and the characters being thinly sketched, 47 Ronin holds entertainment value as a grand visual experience and a film with some great action scenes which echo great samurai movies and add visual effects to enhance them.