Does the new version of the 47 Ronin add or detract from the legend?

Movie Title:  47 Ronin

Grade: B

In a Nutshell:  It’s as if this long movie couldn’t decide which one it wanted to be: epic war history or CGI action fantasy.  I love Keanu Reeves and wanted this movie to be legendary for him, but it just falls short of being very memorable.  It prides itself as telling a true Japanese story, yet it mixes in modern CGI villains that spoil the authenticity.  The movie takes itself very seriously, but has a few humorous moments, such as when a pudgy Ronin tries to cut a branch with Keanu’s sharp sword.  (Is Ronin plural?  What’s one Ronin called?  Roni?)

In case you didn’t know already, a Ronin is a masterless Samurai and the film is a remake of others made in 1994 and 1941.  While many critics have been quite rough on this version, if you’re interested in Japanese lore, you’ll still find plenty to enjoy here.

Uplifting theme: I thought the ceremony with bloody thumbprints on paper was powerful.  Oishi inspires with this short speech: “We will leave this record of courage so the world will know who we were and what we did.  Tonight, we will regain our honor and avenge our Lord.  None of us knows how long he shall live or when our time will come.  But soon, all that will be left of our brief lives is the pride our children feel when they speak our names.”

At the end of the movie, the narrator explains “the memory of the 47 Ronin who put duty and justice before their fear of death has lived down through the centuries as one of the greatest examples of loyalty and honor in Japanese culture.”  The screen then shows text, telling the reader that each year, on December 14^th, thousands of people from around the world visit the graves of the 47 Ronin to pay their respects.  This film was inspired by their story.”  That statement alone made me want to learn more about the true tale.

Things I liked:   I love symbolism and the movie provides a few touches, such as the candles blowing out when one of the Samurai dies or when the Ronin wear white robes to show purity in obedience, surrounding a white tree in the middle, representing the pillar of tradition.  I also love it when Keanu calmly tells someone he’s going to kick their butt.  Rinko Kikuchi gave a sexy and bewitching performance.

Things I didn’t like:  The boy who plays Keanu’s character (Kai) when younger speaks with a British accent, but the older Kai does not.  Someone should have caught that little inconsistency.  The prejudice against Kai, the “half-breed” seemed a little too familiar and tired for a movie theme, although certainly experienced in many societies still today.  Maybe I’m just tired of ignorance.

Funny lines:

• “I knew it was you.  I saw your belly sticking out from behind the tree.”  - Kai
• “I knew you’d come for me.”  - Mika  (Wow, how many times have we heard that from melting starlets?)
• My niece lived in Japan for a year and a half and told me oishi means “delicious”, so I thought it was interesting that one of the character’s names was Oishi.

Inspiring lines:

• “Mountains of corpses will not stand in our way.” - Witch (Wow, that’s dedication, eh?)
• “What I propose ends in death.  Even if we succeed we will be hanged.”  - Oishi  (It’s hard to inspire people with a speech like that.)
• “A Samurai does not take credit for victories of others.”  - Oishi
• “I will search for you to a thousand worlds and a thousand lifetimes until I find you.”   - SPOILER ALERT  - Kai  (Now that’s romantic, right?)
• When a crime goes unpunished, the world is unbalanced.  When a wrong is unavenged, the heavens look down on us in shame.” – Oishi
• “My father told me that this world was only a preparation for the next.  All we can ask is that we leave it, having loved and being loved.”  - Mika

Things to look for:

• wooden Japanese shoes worn by the King Lord guy
• Samurai wear 2 swords
• Did you know Keanu Reeves is half-Asian?  He really is!

Tips for parents:  No profanity and mostly bloodless fighting.  It features honor and loyalty, but also revenge.  It’s certainly an opportunity to discuss those values as a family.  Young children may get a little bored.  

If you saw this movie, I'd love to hear what you thought about it!

In case you're interested in learning more about this famous Japanese story, check out these other versions of the retelling.  One of the most popular ones is Inagaki's Chushingura" Hana no Maki, Yuki no Maki (1962).

Pacific Rim floods senses with special effects

 
Transformers meet Godzilla with an inspiring speech worthy of Independence Day.  There, now you know the whole plot of Pacific Rim, the summer’s latest popcorn blockbuster.  My movie buff son absolutely loved it and said “I’d give it a TEN and see it AGAIN!”  This is one that movie goers will line up for again and again.

My son who is currently an animation student in college said it included all of his favorite things: giant robots kicking alien butt in the Lovecraft genre style of horror, complete with lots of explosions, a cute Asian girl, Japanese references, Director Guillermo del Toro, and amazing CGI.  He even got a kick out of hearing the same actress who voices the popular video game “Portal.”  He said the only thing he thought the movie lacked was Liam Neeson.  Ha ha

You probably won’t recognize a lot of the actors, such as big screen newbies Charlie Hunnam and Diego Klattenhoff, who play brothers whose minds become linked when fighting inside a giant robot called a Jaeger, designed to fight cool alien creatures from the sea.  The actors actually look alike, as does Burn Gorman, another Jaeger fighter who tries to save the world from threatening monsters.  You will, however, get a kick out of seeing Hellboy’s Ron Perlman, who plays Hannibal Chau, named after his favorite historical figure and second-favorite restaurant in Brooklyn.  Director Guillermo del Toro admitted that if he could ever form a neural handshake with anyone that it would be Ron Perlman.  Yeah.  Ron Perlman has been in every single one of Guillermo del Toro’s movies.

The movie has that “Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots” feel to it and is even a little comic book clichéd, but it has enough incredible CGI special effects to fill the Pacific Ocean.   Watching it in 3D will keep you right inside the action, but if you’re sitting too close to an IMAX screen you will get swallowed up by it. 

Unlike some alien movies, you get to see a LOT of these creatures up close.  They’re super cool-looking, scary, and even have some pretty Avatar blue streaks and ooze.  Director Guillermo del Toro includes a whirling mixture of digital, analog, complicated mechanisms, iconic big Russians, funky science with alien body parts, Iron Man mobility, and Steam Punk.  The sound effects are beyond big and cool.  Rinko Kikuchi as a little girl is the cutest thing ever.

Idris Elba’s delightful accent underscores the movies theme that it takes the whole world’s efforts to save itself.   The “drift” introduces the idea of two people’s minds united in a common cause.  Who would YOU want to join with in the “drift”?  No spoiler alert here: the world is saved and you’ll leave the theater with a silly grin on your face.

Two fun quotes from the flick that show how it doesn’t take itself too seriously:

“We can either sit here and do nothing or we can grab those flare guns and go out there and do something really stupid.”  (Herc Hansen)

“Today, at the edge of our hope, at the end of our time, we have chosen not only to believe in ourselves, but in each other.  Today we face the monsters that are at our door.  Today we are canceling the apocalypse!”   (Stacker Pentecost)

Grade:  A-