47 Ronin

A multi-colored downer fantasy which combines bursts of imagination with a bleak worldview, resulting in something that rarely feels mainstream.

An odd mix of stiff and sumptuous.

47 Ronin can’t entirely paper over the void at its center, traceable partly to the shadowboxing of computer-aided filmmaking or studio tinkering.

Rinsch, making his feature debut, shows the shortcoming of someone coming from the image-based world of commercials and advertising. There are moments of genuine beauty and a few terrifically eye-popping effects, but no feel yet for storytelling.

In spite of its enjoyable, easy-to-exploit aspects, 47 Ronin is a big budget spectacle hamstrung by its need to be at once flippant and respectful of its honor-driven source material.

The basics of the story remain unchanged, but it’s the wanna-be-blockbuster additions that rankle, be it the incoherent direction of first-time feature director Carl Rinsch or the copious CGI beasties who look like rejected "Lord of the Rings" villains.

In the monumentally dull 47 Ronin, Reeves mumbles monosyllabic claptrap between dull action scenes. And it’s a shame: At almost 50 years old, the actor allows this turgid, clanky flick to play to his worst stereotypes.

I absolutely loved this movie! It was a beautiful period piece with well-orchestrated fight scenes. The scenery was gorgeous, the costuming and pageantry sumptuous. The characters were typical "fairy tale" iconic people who represent heroic ideals. I think the actors all played very reserved characters who expressed their motivations and feelings very subtly. I'm sorry to see so much criticism of this wonderful and beautiful movie. It should not be seen as a pure action fight movie. There is much more depth to the story using well-orchestrated moves which represent so much.

While the acting is mediocre and the storytelling is predictable, fast paced action, world-building and special effects make 47 Ronin an entertaining fantasy-action film.

It’s a enjoyable but ultimately mediocre movie. Some fun to be had but nothing crazy.

Potansiyeli var ama kullanamamış gibi bir yapım bu film. Yoklukta izlenebilir.

They really should have let a Japanese director do this. Apart from the misleading narration and the exaggerated graphics, this film also lacks the profundity and strength the original story communicates, which is, true, very difficult to grasp if you weren't born and raised in Japan. As for Keanu Reeves, whom everybody keeps panning, he was an obvious marketing choice. Again, if they had let this be done by an all-Japanese crew, I think it would have been a wonderful piece of foreign cinema, faithful to the story and theme of the legend. I'd watch Princess Mononoke a thousand times over this.