Jackcarter
First Post
Tom Cruise's gonna play a samurai! Actually, an assassin set in the dying days of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan! He's gonna have a cross-shaped scar and a wicked reversed-bladed katana! ....... 
Okay, I'm done for my quota of lame jokes for today.
However, Cruise is making a samurai epic, of sorts. I have the abbreviated report of it at the bottom, so you lazy bums don't have to do anything. It's called the "Last Samurai," and it is actually set during the Meiji revolution. I'm pretty excited about it because the Meiji revolution is my favorite era in Japan--so full of adventure, derring-do, bloodletting, sheer heroism, and lofty idealism entertwined with brutal realpolitik.
Since it involves Cruise, WB, the director of Glory, and the writer for the Gladiator, it's probably going to have a high budget, and I have correspondingly high hopes for the plot. From the blurb below, I'm hoping that the film will include many of the RL highlights of the Meiji revolution, like the destruction of Aizu castle or the defeat of the shogunate army by Kiheitai (those who've seen Kenshin OAVs should know what that is ).
Of course, for the true kenshin fanatics, one would hope that Shinsengumi would make appearance as well, though probably not, since they weren't very important in RL.
There's one thing, though, that I fervently hope against hope, to never to happen in the film: Tom Cruise reprising his role from MI2 or copying Keanu and thinking that he's a kendoka. Alas, from what little info below, it seems that Cruise WILL be swringing around his prop katana; it says that he's taking kendo lessons. Why can't these actors leave serious fighting to stuntmen and/or martial artists? Except for Matrix, no fight scenes I've seen in recent Matrix knock-offs actually had to be done by the lead actors.
But hey, who cares? I have a hunch that this is going to be one rollicking epic! Woo hoo! I think this is the first time that a samurai pic is being made with a Hollywood A-list budget; I can't wait to see the special effects!!!!!
Okay, I'm done for my quota of lame jokes for today. However, Cruise is making a samurai epic, of sorts. I have the abbreviated report of it at the bottom, so you lazy bums don't have to do anything.
It's called the "Last Samurai," and it is actually set during the Meiji revolution. I'm pretty excited about it because the Meiji revolution is my favorite era in Japan--so full of adventure, derring-do, bloodletting, sheer heroism, and lofty idealism entertwined with brutal realpolitik.Since it involves Cruise, WB, the director of Glory, and the writer for the Gladiator, it's probably going to have a high budget, and I have correspondingly high hopes for the plot. From the blurb below, I'm hoping that the film will include many of the RL highlights of the Meiji revolution, like the destruction of Aizu castle or the defeat of the shogunate army by Kiheitai (those who've seen Kenshin OAVs should know what that is
).Of course, for the true kenshin fanatics, one would hope that Shinsengumi would make appearance as well, though probably not, since they weren't very important in RL.
There's one thing, though, that I fervently hope against hope, to never to happen in the film: Tom Cruise reprising his role from MI2 or copying Keanu and thinking that he's a kendoka. Alas, from what little info below, it seems that Cruise WILL be swringing around his prop katana; it says that he's taking kendo lessons.
Why can't these actors leave serious fighting to stuntmen and/or martial artists? Except for Matrix, no fight scenes I've seen in recent Matrix knock-offs actually had to be done by the lead actors.But hey, who cares? I have a hunch that this is going to be one rollicking epic! Woo hoo! I think this is the first time that a samurai pic is being made with a Hollywood A-list budget; I can't wait to see the special effects!!!!!