47 Ronin (2013)

This was a odd film for me, it was one I was really interested in at one point. But then after more an more news came out, my interest very quickly died off. It went from being a day one viewing, to a redbox rental pretty much over night. Now that I have finally seen the film, I can say I may have been to harsh on it. However many of my fears were justified, and the end result was far from the original film it was intended to be. Some back story on this, 47 Ronin is a true story. That being said this movie goes way off tracks from the truth. Originally though, not so much. The film was written by a Chris Morgan and directed by..well somebody else. The original story had Keanu Reeves character Kai, in the film very little. He was a secondary role, where as Oishi played by Hirouki Sanada was the main lead. My understanding is the film was pretty much done, but the higher up didn't like that it stared a Asian actor that most people were unfamiliar with. They wanted Reeves to be the lead, and had them do many re-shoots to establish this. This also greatly changed the story and the overall film, to the extent the Director either Walked or was Fired depending on which site you are reading. I will talk more about this later, but it plays such a huge role in why the film did not manage to reach its full potential.

So the story of the 47 Ronin? Their Lord Asano Naganori was tricked into attacking a court official Kira Yoshinaka. His punishment was death, and he was stripped of all his lands. This lead to all of his samurai becoming Ronin, or a masterless samurai. According to wikipedia, the modern day equivalent of a Ronin in japan, is somebody who lost their job. There is far more to it then that, but it should give you a idea. Kira, who was behind the death of Asano, was given no punishment. Asano was allowed to commit Seppuku, a form of suicide that retains honor. His men saw the injustice in this and plotted in secrecy to kill Kira for his part. The 47 were not simply out for revenge, but were hoping the Shogun would return the families lands and thus give the other Ronin back there title. In the movie this was not the case. Asano was tricked into attacking the Official by witchcraft. He was not stripped of his lands, but his samurai were made into Ronin. His daughter was then given to the Official as a wife in order to join the two families. She is also in love with Reeves character Kai. The idea behind the movie is not about saving the other Ronin and bringing back their honor, but simply Killing Kira to keep him from marrying Asano's daughter.

So the story is kind of a mess, it had a strong structure to build off of. But ended up going for something much less meaningful. Reeves plays Kai, a half asina man who was raised by Tengu, or demons. Asano takes him in as a child and raises him. However as he is a foreigner, and referred to as a half breed, he is unable to have a title or rank. He is looked down on by everybody, but the movie focuses on Oishi the most. This is because Oishi was originally the lead, and we are supposed to be seeing his journey. After Asano's death, Oishi joins up with Kai and puts the past behind him. The Racism towards Kai is a constant in the film. Though eventually the Ronin do accept him, after he does pretty much all the work getting ready.

So since the story isn't great, how does the rest of the movie hold up? The writing was weird, but not bad. The movie starts off with a big scene, but the next few are slow. They try to establish the different roles, and bring some emotion to the screen. However they don't really get you to connect to the different characters. It ends up just feeling drawn out, and leaves you waiting for the next bit of excitement. The acting wasn't bad, but it rarely excelled. The movie seemed to be relying on its CGI and battle sequences to get it over. In some regards this worked, but the inconsistency of the CGI was baffling. We had a really cool looking creature in the opening scene, followed up by some very horrible looking Tengu later on. Some of the CGI looked almost real, some looked laughable. The battles were no better. The fights between the Samurai were entertaining, however when Reeves starts to use his Demon abilities it all falls apart. Also the final fight between him and the witch was just awful.

Back to the re-shoots. There are multiple times in the film where you can tell Reeves was a afterthought. Group shots of the Ronin with no white man in sight, then a line delivered by Reeves as he is the only person in the shot. It is odd and really seems out of place. I can understand them wanting a established actor having a larger presence, but it really does detract form it. His journey is not all that interesting, and he only wants the girl. Oishi who is fighting for something much greater is pushed to the side, and often overlooked. However the ending to the film did focus on him. And he was given the final fight against Kira, even if it was greatly overshadowed by the lesser fight between Reeves and the witch. The ending was actually the strongest part of the film. Even if it did a poor job of explaining why it ended the way it does. You will remember that part of the film, far greater the rest of it.

In the end I can't say I hated 47 Ronin. While it reeked of missed opportunities, it still delivered some good action. And I love a good asian film, it is something we don't get enough of here. While those who are aware of the history of the film will outright hate it, those who are not should be able to find something enjoyable in it. I particularly liked the witch in most of her scenes. Played by Rinko Kikuchi who you may recognize from Pacific Rim. If you didn't make that connection don't feel bad, I have seen Pacific Rim multiple times this year and had no clue until after the fact. Much like Reeves, the Rinko felt like she should have been used less in the film. However she was usually pretty crazy, and added some unintentional comedic moments.

The battle scenes were for the most part entertaining. And seeing the 47 sneak into Kira's house was very enjoyable. With a strong ending, and some cool sets, there were high points to the film. In the end it feel greatly short, but I didn't regret the $1.25 I spent to watch it.

No lego trailer for you today. Sorry