This is one of those movies which could have been so much better, but in the hands of an inexperienced director and probably too many edits by the studio, it is not as good as you would expect from the budget and lavish sets.
That saying, the cinematography and art direction is the most gorgeous I have ever seen in a movie, and that includes Lord of the Rings. If this movie cost 175 million to make, then every cent of it is up there on screen.
If only the director put as much care into the pacing and storyline as he did into the sets! As a result, 47 Ronin has uneven storytelling. I found the first part quite slow because of necessary exposition, but it picks up 1/3rd into the movie. I also thought the action sequences were well done, but could have been prolonged. The acting was fine all round, but the women stole the show. Kudos to Ko Shibasaki for really making a passive aggressive statement and Rinko Kikuchi for chewing scenery! Oishi is the main character of this story, not Keanu's character, Kai, but Keanu always has a charismatic presence that makes every moment he appears on screen a tension-filled piece. In a nutshell, this is an entertaining piece which is not wholly accurate to history, but stays as close to it as it can.
I would totally recommend everyone watching this because it's a very sobering portrayal of Japanese historical culture, which is absolutely true and otherwise foreign to the rest of the world. (You'll know what I'm talking about when you see the movie.)
That saying, the cinematography and art direction is the most gorgeous I have ever seen in a movie, and that includes Lord of the Rings. If this movie cost 175 million to make, then every cent of it is up there on screen.
If only the director put as much care into the pacing and storyline as he did into the sets! As a result, 47 Ronin has uneven storytelling. I found the first part quite slow because of necessary exposition, but it picks up 1/3rd into the movie. I also thought the action sequences were well done, but could have been prolonged. The acting was fine all round, but the women stole the show. Kudos to Ko Shibasaki for really making a passive aggressive statement and Rinko Kikuchi for chewing scenery! Oishi is the main character of this story, not Keanu's character, Kai, but Keanu always has a charismatic presence that makes every moment he appears on screen a tension-filled piece. In a nutshell, this is an entertaining piece which is not wholly accurate to history, but stays as close to it as it can.
I would totally recommend everyone watching this because it's a very sobering portrayal of Japanese historical culture, which is absolutely true and otherwise foreign to the rest of the world. (You'll know what I'm talking about when you see the movie.)