Review of 47 Ronin (2013) by Moviefan777 — 26 Dec 2013

"I didn't ask you to build me a watch, I only asked what time it was." Seems this is very true for this particular film: Critics want to deconstruct it down to every nuance while making sure to factor in the original cost, how the CGI compares to other films, etc. What so many people, including critics, seem to forget is that most people go to the movies for entertainment. They don't care if the movie cost $1 or $1 billion to make. They don't care if the CGI wasn't as good as XYZ film or if a particular piece of dialogue wasn't great they simply want to be entertained for a couple hours. If it was widely publicized that it was made for only $40,000 would people have then said what a remarkable achievement it was?

47 Ronin was a big surprise in that sense as it simply didn't disappoint as so many said it would. Indeed, we bought our 3D tickets before we read any reviews and started regretting the purchase before even seeing the film. We finally decided to go ahead with what was sure to be a terrible movie ticket investment four hardcore movie watchers who can generally be pretty objective when it comes to movies. As it turned out, the movie was entertaining in virtually every respect.

Was it a great movie? Not necessarily, but it was good and certainly worth the ticket price. The story had a few lulls but none that inspired a "this is probably a good time to go to the bathroom" moment. The CGI was fine for 99% of the population, possibly excepting graphics designers and hardcore video game players. The dialogue was fine for 99% of the population, possibly excepting writers or professional speakers.

Instead, this movie entertained right from the start and had a plot line that followed just fine. Sure, sure, perhaps a couple "roll your eyes" romantic moments but that is no major sin. The action scenes were good with a couple very minor "huh?" spots. The ending wasn't my cup of tea, but would seem to hold true with the storyline and the samurai code of that day. But hey, how many people in the US are well-versed in those ancient traditions? Probably less than 1%. Which again leaves it as a satisfying film for the other 99% of us.