47 RONIN
(M, 119 minutes). Opens Thursday.
★★
(M, 119 minutes). Opens Thursday.
★★
 |
| Download 47 Ronin Full Movie |
Riddled with problems since its completion in 2012, this ambitious feature debut from commercials director Carl Rinsch finally arrives in theatres suitably battered and bruised.
Hammered by critics, its Boxing Day opening in the United States was catastrophic - it's been hailed an even bigger turkey than The Lone Ranger.
Rinsch was reportedly removed from the project during last year's reshoots, having understandably struggled to rein in a storyline involving samurai, witches, CGI monsters and Keanu Reeves.
In a break from his ever-intriguing pet projects, Reeves - that former master of The Matrix - has been lured back to blockbuster territory. Here, as a half-breed orphaned former slave named Kai, he is adopted by a group of leaderless samurai, known as ronin, who vow vengeance on their leader's death at the hands of an evil warlord, Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano, of Thor fame).
The ronin are led by the formidable Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada, also in Jonathan Teplitzky's The Railway Man), who must also keep a watchful eye over their former leader's daughter, Mika (Ko Shibasaki), who - inevitably - is desired by both Kira and Kai. This retread of a two-part Japanese classic from 1941 - itself based on real events dating back to the 18th century - is almost as troublesome as one would expect. The demons and ghouls (and witches) look and sound silly. The main attraction (that is, Reeves) has rather limited screen time, and proves underwhelming (he could have sleepwalked through this).
I'd rather hope that, given this costly ($US175 million) and largely pointless dirge, shrewd filmgoers may feel compelled to instead explore the original, in all its noble glory. As for Reeves, he has been otherwise engaged in those side projects, most notably producing the film-versus-digital doc Side By Side and making his directorial debut with Man of Tai Chi. If the plan was to bankroll more of such things, 47 Ronin will disappoint. Its global box office has so far barely reached $US20 million. That's hardly an honourable way to go, ronin or not.
Hammered by critics, its Boxing Day opening in the United States was catastrophic - it's been hailed an even bigger turkey than The Lone Ranger.
Rinsch was reportedly removed from the project during last year's reshoots, having understandably struggled to rein in a storyline involving samurai, witches, CGI monsters and Keanu Reeves.
In a break from his ever-intriguing pet projects, Reeves - that former master of The Matrix - has been lured back to blockbuster territory. Here, as a half-breed orphaned former slave named Kai, he is adopted by a group of leaderless samurai, known as ronin, who vow vengeance on their leader's death at the hands of an evil warlord, Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano, of Thor fame).
The ronin are led by the formidable Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada, also in Jonathan Teplitzky's The Railway Man), who must also keep a watchful eye over their former leader's daughter, Mika (Ko Shibasaki), who - inevitably - is desired by both Kira and Kai. This retread of a two-part Japanese classic from 1941 - itself based on real events dating back to the 18th century - is almost as troublesome as one would expect. The demons and ghouls (and witches) look and sound silly. The main attraction (that is, Reeves) has rather limited screen time, and proves underwhelming (he could have sleepwalked through this).
I'd rather hope that, given this costly ($US175 million) and largely pointless dirge, shrewd filmgoers may feel compelled to instead explore the original, in all its noble glory. As for Reeves, he has been otherwise engaged in those side projects, most notably producing the film-versus-digital doc Side By Side and making his directorial debut with Man of Tai Chi. If the plan was to bankroll more of such things, 47 Ronin will disappoint. Its global box office has so far barely reached $US20 million. That's hardly an honourable way to go, ronin or not.
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