Carl Rinsch’s 47 Ronin (2014) Movie Review
Title: 47 Ronin
Year: 2014
Language: English/Japanese
Genre/ Sub Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Censor: UA
Run Time: 118 Minutes
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rinko Kikuchi, Tadanobu Asano, Ko Shibasaki, Jin Akanishi, Takato Yonemoto and Min Tanaka
Director: Carl Rinsch
I have been looking forward to see Keanu Reeves new movie 47 Ronin, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from his guest role or the movie. The legend of 47 Ronin is known around the world. An incredible story of courage and sacrifice, it definitely deserves a big screen treatment. Unfortunately 47 Ronin is not the movie this legend deserves, and end up being first flops of Hollywood in India.
47 Ronin starts off as Keanu Reeves (Kai) a boy who escaped the evil of the Forrest as a young man but was treated as an outsider by the local Samurai because his father was an Englishman and that he is believed to have demon in him. He is taken in by the Lord Asano, played by Min Tanaka, and befriends his daughter Mika, played by Ko Shibasaki. When rival Lord Kira, played by Tadanobu Asano, arrives to stay with Lord Asano and have their Samurai compete, Kira causes the death of Asano with the help of his witch, played by Rinko Kikuchi.
After the death of this Master the now Ronin lead by Oishi, played by Hiroyuki Sanada, proclaim they will avenge their fallen master. A year later, Oishi seeks the help of Kai and the scattered Ronin’s help to save princess Mika from being forced to marry Lord Kira and succeed in avenging their fallen master and demonstrate the honor of their Samurai vows.
There is a lot more that goes on that I won’t go into but let’s just say that this movie never stops adding plot twists and then suddenly gets caught up in its own story and must rely on cliche moments.
Coming to performances Keanu Reeves continues his wooden expressions forward with half breed out cast Kai. Hiroyuki Sanada as vindictive Ronin Oishi is promising. His character could have been developed as central protagonist but he gets pushed aside as a support. Rinko Kiuchi – Tadanobu Asano are fine in wicked way. Ko Shibasaki is pretty as Kai’s love interest.
Studio meddling to suit the Hollywood style in Carl Rinsch direction is blatantly evident instances of clumsy editing, flow of scenes, drop in the narration (feels like around 30 minutes of movie is missing). The 3D added some dimension to the landscapes, which were gorgeous to look at, and it did the use of 3D that I love the most which is snow fall, but overall it was unnecessary and didn’t really add to the overall experience. Soundtrack is very loud. To go along with the loud soundtrack and endless amounts of CGI animation this film lacks in acting at every level, which cannot all be blamed on the cast seeing how they did not have a lot to work with. As scenes get more and more corny along the way so does the dialogue and situations cast members find themselves in.
47 Ronin is a disappointment from start to finish and anyone who loves the stories of Samurai’s & Dragons will be quite upset to see this horrible adaptation of the Legend story. Films such as this will improve once studios forget about making millions on each flick, benefiting from every opportunity to market memorabilia from the film, and concentrate on making quality pictures.
Survi Review: 1/5
If your are really interested in this legend, following are few links are about the historical incident involving the Forty-seven Ronin and their mission to avenge the death of their master, Asano Naganori.
1. Chushingura – Link
2. Seppuku – Link
3. 47 Ronin – Link
4. Bushido – Link
Theatrical Trailer:
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