47 Ronin Review

Casts: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rinko Kikuchi

Genre: Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Drama

Release Date: 25 December 2013

47 Ronin sees Keanu Reeves leading a set of international casts in a fictionalised adaptation on one of Japan's most famous tales on bravery and loyalty. After Lord Asano, the overlord of Ako Domain in ancient Japan was framed and commanded to commit seppuku for attempted assassination on master of ceremonies Lord Kira, his now master-less samurais (ronin) gather together to plot revenge and gain justice for their fallen master. Kai (Reeves), an outcast for his entire life, decided to join the ronin not only to avenge the man who once saved his life but also to protect the one person he love most.

Praise: Despite being a Hollywood production, the set and costumes design maintained enough Japanese elements to give a sense of authenticity to its ancient feudal Japan backdrop. The special effects are neat and non-excessive, along with some impressive make ups that pretty much reminded me of the first Mortal Kombat film (aside from the fact that Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa playing as the Shogun, oddly maintaining the same authoritative notion as Tsang Tsung.). Oh and of course, watching Rinko Kikuchi as a seductive sorceress is always a plus point.

Complains: Now, where do I start....? The plot and narrative is horrendous. Despite being a fictionalised fantasy account of the 47 ronin, the film progressed in such a flat pace, completely void of excitement and adrenaline. Instead, it is full of cheesy, cliché dialogues that it became so hard to sit through the entire film without losing focus. In addition, some actions taken by the characters are illogical, even by science-fiction standards.

30 minutes into the film and I am stricken with how one-dimension every character is. There is zero depth and complexity in the characters; everyone is exactly what they came off as. Each role are played with such painful stereotypical portrayal that I have to constantly convince myself that maybe there will be some surprising creativity waiting at the climax, just to keep myself seated until the end. Which of course, there is none either.

One major agony in watching the film is seeing the Japanese actors so out-of-character in almost every scene. Each line spoken seem forced, as though they have no confidence in saying them. It is a fatal flaw to have the Japanese characters interact with each other completely in English rather than their mother tongue. Not only does it look and sound dubious but it also westernised the feeling and experience too much, causing it to lose its Japanese authenticity so carefully built by the sets and costumes. The casts are awesome but I feel that each of them (except Keanu) could not bring out their full acting potential to give off the necessary emotion and impact when conversing fully in English.

While some other disappointing fantasy films have, at the very least, breath-taking climatic fight scenes to compensate and reward you for enduring till the very end, don't count on 47 Ronin for doing just that. The final battle between the characters are simplistic, short and forgettable. It is akin to watching children settling their quarrels in the most unfashionable way imaginable.

Rating: 3/10

Hit or Miss: Unless you derive satisfaction from watching outright dull and unimaginative fantasy films or if you're 10 years old, this film is a must miss. Though you can simply watch it just to see Rinko Kikuchi.