This movie has an odd little dilemma to deal with; never has a film felt so much like it's made a deal with the Devil. In this case, the filmmakers wanted an actor with marquee value, a name they could use to bring people from all over in to see a story of samurai avenging the injustice their late master suffered at the hand of an evil lord. I assume the Devil smiled and said, "Ok, I'll give you an actor. But not only will he deliver an uninspired one-note performance, he'll steal the attention away from your hard work. Those who hate him will dismiss your movie as schlock, and you'll be destined to be a mediocre blip on the holiday move season." Now that's a case of choosing the lesser evil: smaller distribution or a weak top-billed actor. And as for the filmmakers' choice, I think Chris Rock said it best: "Now I'm not saying [they] should've done it, but I understand." Enter Keanu Reeves, and here's "47 Ronin."
"47 Ronin" takes place in ancient feudal Japan, where Lord Asano (Min Tanaka) rules the Ako region, protected by his loyal samurai. During a visit from the shogun (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), Asano is enchanted by a witch (Rinko Kikuchi) under the employ of Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano) from the northern provinces who desires Ako for himself. The witch clouds Asano's mind with visions of his daughter being attacked. He attacks the assailant but it turns out to be Lord Kira sleeping. The shogun sees Asano assaulting Kira in his bed and punishes him by forcing Asano to commit seppuku, a ritualistic suicide. Grieving over the death of his lord and furious about the injustice Asano suffered, his second-in-command Ôishi (Hiroyuki Sanada) vows to round up the rest of the samurai and avenge Asano's death by killing Kira and the witch, bringing honor and respect back to Ako.
Now, one may notice I didn't mention Keanu Reeves' character and what he's doing. I didn't forget anything. Reeves baffles me here; his character can be eliminated from the main plot and the story would flow fine. He plays the "halfblood" Kai, who is rescued as a child by Lord Asano after one of his samurai threatens to kill him. The samurai believed the marks on Kai's head resembling claws were from a demon, making Kai a demon himself. Asano thought otherwise and brought Kai into his region, where years later, he remains an outcast, ridiculed and rejected by people for his half-Japanese, half-white ancestry. (Racism is alive and well everywhere.) Kai can see through the witch's disguises and figures out the evil first, but outside of helping Ôishi with vengeance and romancing the shogun's daughter, Mika, (Ko Shibasaki) he has little screen time. And to be fair, I'm glad. I don't like to nitpick every idiosyncrasy, (though you can make a drinking game out of how often Reeves leaves his mouth hanging open) but his delivery is so monotone, his expressions blank. If the man can't be bothered to emote, why should I care about his character? His character seems fazed by little; he has a funny line or two and portrays humility well, but those are small details hidden in the grand blandness of his performance. If anything, Reeves' performance services the rest of the actors, who do much better jobs with their characters. However, the shame is because of Reeves' status in Hollywood, most people will base their opinion of the movie with their opinion of Reeves as an actor, not giving the movie a fair shake.
There are good things here, and plenty of them. For a type of movie associated with little budget and artistic flair, "47 Ronin" shows off a certain polish and creativity I admire. The designs are colorful and stand out, especially in the royals' costumes and palace. It's beautiful to watch; I'd recommend watching in 2D as the brighter format gives characters a warmer tone and lets the colors pop. The cinematography has fun showing off the world, whether it be outlining the character behind a shoji screen or showing off the forest home of the demons, giving the film its own rhythms that'll satisfy the fan of Japanese culture while introducing newcomers to the aesthetic.
Now, while I have problems with Keanu Reeves, I take no offense at the rest of the cast. They do their jobs well, having fun with their characters, showing off sides of the story one wouldn't expect. Ôishi's dedication to Lord Asano inspires; this lord-samurai relationship is fascinating in how engulfing it can be. Ôishi's respect for Asano is almost unbelievable, and it's not just Asano's life he fights to protect. Ôishi makes a point of making sure his master's memory and reputation isn't tarnished by history. Avenging his lord's honor isn't going to bring Asano back from the dead, but it will make sure to bring respect to his memory, fixing the damage done by Kira. It inspires me and I'm fascinated by his dedication. Speaking of Kira, he's another character for which you can tell Tadanobu Asano was just having fun. Kira is wonderfully over-the-top with a cocky sneer that won me over every time. I love to hate this guy; he's a simple jerk, but the actor carries so much confidence in the role. It makes me smile.
However, my prize award for favorite character has to go to the witch. In a movie that juggles subplots and emotionless side characters, it's such a refreshing change to see an evil character who seems to have no motive for what she does other than her enjoyment of evil. The movie shows her glee in transforming into monsters to destroy our heroes, using psychological warfare, and bewitching anyone she can. She just loves doing evil and takes pleasure in lighting samurai on fire. I cant help it, she keeps my eyes glued to the screen. My props to Rinko Kikuchi for infusing her character with personality and interesting traits.
Overall, do I hate this movie? Absolutely not. In fact, I admire it for taking a B-movie style plot and mixing it with so much creativity and polish. I admire the actors for having fun with their roles. I like the action and Japanese culture. Really, my problem just stems from Keanu Reeves, but I guess that's what one gets when making a deal with Satan. I'd say if you're to watch one or two movies for the holiday season, "47 Ronin" shouldn't be part of that theater experience, but I believe with word-of-mouth, it'll get a better life on DVD. There are good things here, and I can't ignore them. Go see it when available to rent; it's a fun addition to the samurai genre. Thanks for reading yet again, I'm the Man without a Plan, signing off.
"47 Ronin" trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8cKdDkkIYY
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