47 Ronin – Really Not THAT Bad
Excuse me for a moment while I readjust my perceptions. I just spent two hours in a movie theatre watching 47 Ronin, a film which has earned a whopping 10% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s actually more than I’d heard that it had – when I went in someone had told me that it was at 0%. After the movie ended, I took off my 3d glasses, sat there in a the dark for a minute, and then said “What the fuck? I LIKED that movie.”
Rotten Tomatoes has led me astray before, but usually not THIS far astray. I found the film to be a fun fantastic take on the story of the 47 Ronin that was surprisingly not spoiled by Keanu Reeves – you just need to have an anime viewers take on “fun”. I feel like all of the reviewers calling it a boring Western mock-up of a Japanese story haven’t actually WATCHED much of the similar types of material that Japan makes. If you enjoy anime, you’re going to enjoy this movie. (Also if you’re a fan of Legend of the Five Rings – this movie is as close as you’re going to get to a licensed movie.)
Given the low review scores, I was expecting a poorly put together movie where Keanu Reeves teaches a bunch of Japanese people how to follow bushido and saves the day, ala The Last Samurai. Instead what I got was a movie where Reeves was A hero, not THE hero, populated with an almost entirely Asian cast. In particular Hiroyuki Sanada was excellent as Oishi, the captain of the samurai, who actually gets more screentime than Reeves, and is cast in the more typical protagonist role. In addition, the witch, played by Rinko Kikuchi, was terrifying in both her seduction and cruelty.
The movie was visually stunning. The sets and costuming were vivid and elaborate, doing an excellent job of bringing the comic book feel of the movie to life. The effects were also beautiful, especially the robe effect of the witch, and the blurring tengu magic. Fight scenes were well choreographed, and didn’t fall prey to the “move the camera so fast the audience can’t see what’s going on” problem that most modern action films experience – no Bulletproof Monk bullshit here. In particular, the opening of the Ronin’s final assault on the fortress of their enemy was very well done.
If the film had a single major flaw it was that it was in English. The language jarred against the subject material, and a few of the actors had some trouble delivering their lines believably. A few actors besides Keanu Reeves, that is. I feel that a Japanese subtitled version of the movie might have struck a stronger chord in people, and help get them into the mindset of watching a movie where the happy ending is a courtyard full of guys committing ritual suicide.
The part of 47 Ronin that I’m most unhappy with is it’s 10% Fresh rating. I have no idea what that’s about. I’m not saying that it’s a 5 star film, but it’s at least a 40% Fresh. To put things in perspective, Grudge Match is 25% Fresh, and the new Madea movie is 19%. To put things into an even deeper perspective, Batman & Robin holds a 12% Fresh rating. The movie that introduced the world to Batnipples has a higher rating than 47 Ronin. What the hell, people?! WHAT THE HELL?!
