The story of the 47 Ronin, former Samurai who bravely faced inevitable death in order to uphold the honour of their former lord is one of the most moving stories in Japanese folklore. This tale has been told over and over in film, theatre and television adaptations and yet, remains largely unknown to Western audiences.
However, epic mythology has made a surging comeback in popular culture around the world. Screen adaptations of legendary stories (300, Troy) and fantasies (Lord Of The Rings, Game Of Thrones) would suggest there is a market for a contemporary adaptation of a Japanese classic.
That’s no doubt what the makers of 47 Ronin were thinking when they bankrolled the substantial budget for this film. First time director Carl Erik Rinsch had been linked to a number of previous projects, including Prometheus before his boss at RSA, Ridley Scott decided to direct that film. Rinsch had made a slash with visually exciting ads for Mercedes, BMW and Heineken. The screenplay was written by Chris Morgan (Wanted, Fast & Furious) Hossein Amini (Drive), with John Mathieson (Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven) in charge of cinematography And, Keanu Reeves was brought in as a lead actor, fronting a cast of solid, well known Japanese actors.
Reeves plays Kai, a half-caste, raised by demons who as a young boy is spared and brought into the employ of Lord Asano (Min Tanaka). Well Asano looks kindly upon him, as does his daughter Mika (Kô Shibasaki), but the rest of the Lord’s staff, especially his samurai, led by Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada) dislike him.
A longstanding grudge inspires the Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano) to plot Asano’s downfall, with the help of a shape-shifting witch (Rinko Kikuchi). Matters come to a head when the Shogun (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) visits Asano and the extent of Kira’s plot is revealed.
Despite a thrilling opening sequence, with Kia helps Asano’s Samurai track a giant mythical beast, 47 Ronin soon settles into a flat, largely meandering experience. The dialogue is often turgid and uninspired, with some of the actors struggling to enunciate in English and the visual style feels cheap, especially the CGI renditions of Kia’s fortress.
Tadanobu Asano (Thor, Battleship) and Rinko Kikuchi (Pacific Rim, Norwegian Wood) are two younger Japanese actors well known to Western audiences, yet they are largely lost in this film. Asano is given only fleeting moments to bring either charm or menace to his Kia. And, the camera doesn’t seem to know what to do with Kikuchi’s witch, often framing her awkwardly.
Which really speaks to the big problem in 47 Ronin’s production; this film simply isn’t Japanese enough to be compelling as a visual or cultural experience and it isn’t fast paced and sexy enough to win over audiences acclimated to either the visual polish of 300 or the sheer acuity of Game Of Thrones. Keanu Reeves is fine as a the half-caste Kia, though as with many things in 47 Ronin, exactly why being a half-caste is so troubling to his Japanese compatriots remains an unexplained mystery.
The most visually memorable moments in 47 Ronin are not the fight sequences or the CGI setups for them, but the exchanges between the Japanese cast members in the physical rooms and gardens of Asano’s royal compound. As aesthetically apropos as these scenes might be, one suspects the target audience for 47 Ronin are not buying their ticket on the basis of a few moments of medieval political intrigue.
The action, when it does come, is largely forgettable. There’s some interesting shapeshifting from the witch and also from Kia’s former demonic mentors. But, it’s too little to save 47 Ronin from being caught in the malaise of not knowing what kind of film it wants to be. There’s no real style to the film, with clunky editing and a throughly uninspired score weighing down the film even further.
Some are saying 47 Ronin is a contender for the worst film of the year which is, quite frankly, preposterous. Sadly, whatever strengths the film has and however noble its ambitions might have been, there are just too many glaring faults. 47 Ronin is not a terrible film, in fact, it’s quite watchable and at some points even enthralling. But, one inevitably leaves the cinema wondering how, with so much assembled acting talent and such a huge budget, the result wasn’t a stronger, more compelling and more culturally engaging experience.
Source:
http://thesocietyforfilm.com/2013/12/review-47-ronin/