47 Ronin, 2013.
Directed by Carl Rinsch.
Starring Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Ko Shibasaki and Rinko Kikuchi.
SYNOPSIS:
In this fictionalised account of the Japanese legend a band of ronin seek to avenge their master who was tricked into dishonouring his land. With the help of a half-breed demon they assault the castle of Lord Kira to demonstrate their duty and their loyalty.
While all the trailers make this out to be a Keanu Reeves film, the real star here is Hiroyuki Sanada, the leader of the 47 Ronin, who plays his role with quiet dignity and subdued emotion. The concepts of loyalty and duty are expressed perfectly in a fine performance that is the highlight of the film and he should rightly be praised. Keanu Reeves is decent as the outsider and his role is one that is mostly withdrawn and distant in an emotional sense.
Sadly, the film does not reach the same standards as Sanada’s performance. The action is sharp, the cinematography is excellent and the fight scenes are well-choreographed, but it’s let down by a weak script and some poor characterisation. The film definitely does look beautiful and the colour schemes are vibrant and vivid. The score is infused with Japanese flavour and that all creates a nice immersive feel. The swordfights are slick and even though there are a lot of them the film doesn’t suffer from action fatigue. The most impressive sequence, which is filled with suspense and tension, is the assault on Lord Kira’s castle.
However, there are a few problems. This version of the story introduces some fantasy elements to the legend and while that allows for some cool visuals and a few interesting scenes it doesn’t really add any depth to the story. There seems to be some foreshadowing early on in the film but it doesn’t pay off towards the end so the script felt a bit disjointed. The human elements were far more interesting than the fantastical ones. The other main failing is the character of Mika (Shibasaki), who gets taken away by Lord Kira. She’s a typical damsel in distress and isn’t a character so much as she is a plot point. Her only purpose in the film is to give the heroes someone to rescue and it’s a shame because there was potential to make her an interesting character, but she was mostly treated as a prize.
Mika is also involved in a (supposedly) tender love story with Kai (Reeves) but because Mika is such a bland and vapid character the scenes don’t have any weight to them at all. She should have been shown to be courageous and as much of a leader as her father, but instead she merely occupied space. Lord Kira was an average villain. Like Mika he wasn’t given much depth so he was a villain because the story required a villain.
So the film got a lot right. The actual story of the 47 Ronin was powerful, the film looked gorgeous and Sanada was excellent. Those elements were let down by a weak script and shallow characterisation, which makes this only average at best.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert D. Spake – Find me on Facebook and Amazon.
Originally published December 28, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
