Why remake a CLASSIC Japanese story and have so little respect for the source material?!
If I had been told that this film was NOT a version of the classic story, "The 47 Ronin", and it had some other title, I probably would have enjoyed it very much. But considering that the original story is based on real events and has been the subject of many plays and movies, I have no idea why the filmmakers had such disregard for the source material. Watching the 2013 version is akin to watching a film about the Revolutionary War...and some of the soldiers are aliens! And, I am pretty sure this sort of bizarre storytelling must have offended many of the Japanese who saw it because they expected the traditional story and not this bizarre fantasy film. This story is a nationally treasured one--and such a ridiculous fantasy version simply makes no sense. It's obvious that although MOST of the cast is Japanese, the filmmakers knew little or cared to know little about their culture and history.
There are many ridiculous story points. The obvious one, if you know Japanese history, is having Keanu Reeves in the film at all. Starting in the 17th century, foreigners were banned from Japan. Other than a tiny trading island, Dejima, a foreigner would face the death penalty for going to Japan until the time of the American visits to Japan in the mid-19th century. So, the idea of a non-Japanese samurai is just ridiculous. But even more ridiculous are witches who can turn themselves into foxes and dragons, a MASSIVE warrior who is referred to as a 'Lovecraftian' samurai on IMDb (it's just so silly--you'd have to see it to believe this almost 8 foot tall 'thing'), ENORMOUS mythical creatures and more. Had the film been a fantasy film based on some Japanese mythology (such as the Kitsune which could change shape from fox to whatever) then it would have been fun and pure escapism. But, as a retired history teacher and lover of Japanese films, I find this entire production to be an abomination. It looks nice but has zero regard for the actual inspirational story of the 47 Ronin who gave up their lives for the sake of honor. It's really sad to see Hollywood handling Japanese culture and history so casually.
If I had been told that this film was NOT a version of the classic story, "The 47 Ronin", and it had some other title, I probably would have enjoyed it very much. But considering that the original story is based on real events and has been the subject of many plays and movies, I have no idea why the filmmakers had such disregard for the source material. Watching the 2013 version is akin to watching a film about the Revolutionary War...and some of the soldiers are aliens! And, I am pretty sure this sort of bizarre storytelling must have offended many of the Japanese who saw it because they expected the traditional story and not this bizarre fantasy film. This story is a nationally treasured one--and such a ridiculous fantasy version simply makes no sense. It's obvious that although MOST of the cast is Japanese, the filmmakers knew little or cared to know little about their culture and history.
There are many ridiculous story points. The obvious one, if you know Japanese history, is having Keanu Reeves in the film at all. Starting in the 17th century, foreigners were banned from Japan. Other than a tiny trading island, Dejima, a foreigner would face the death penalty for going to Japan until the time of the American visits to Japan in the mid-19th century. So, the idea of a non-Japanese samurai is just ridiculous. But even more ridiculous are witches who can turn themselves into foxes and dragons, a MASSIVE warrior who is referred to as a 'Lovecraftian' samurai on IMDb (it's just so silly--you'd have to see it to believe this almost 8 foot tall 'thing'), ENORMOUS mythical creatures and more. Had the film been a fantasy film based on some Japanese mythology (such as the Kitsune which could change shape from fox to whatever) then it would have been fun and pure escapism. But, as a retired history teacher and lover of Japanese films, I find this entire production to be an abomination. It looks nice but has zero regard for the actual inspirational story of the 47 Ronin who gave up their lives for the sake of honor. It's really sad to see Hollywood handling Japanese culture and history so casually.