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47 Ronin

28 Comments

From left: Actors Ko Shibasaki, Hiroyuki Sanada, Keanu Reeves, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi and director Carl Rinsch attend a press conference to promote their 3D film "47 Ronin" in Tokyo on Monday. In the latest version of the famous Japanese tale of revenge and loyalty in feudal Japan, Reeves, 49, stars as a "half-breed" (British-Japanese), who joins a band of samurai to avenge the death of their master by a ruthless shogun. The film has been given a fantasy touch, with CG-generated monsters added in. Most of the dialogue is in English, which proved a challenge for some of the Japanese cast, that includes former KAT-TUN singer Jin Akanishi. The film opens in Japan on Dec 6, ahead of anywhere else in the world (it opens in the U.S. on Dec 25). Rinsch said he was confident the film, with its timeless themes, would appeal to overseas audiences. See related story here.

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28 Comments
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The woman on the left looks like she has cat ears.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Rinko….

And the boys rocking' some sharp suits I have to say.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"Reeves, 49, stars as a “half-breed” (British-Japanese), who joins a band of samurai to avenge the death of their master by a ruthless shogun."

Ha ha, lol, this film may actually make Tom Cruises' Last Samurai look good.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

47 months behind schedule gonna be a hot mess, you wait

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Big fan of Hiroyuki Sanada. One of the few Japanese actors that can actually act.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

@tony

I totally Agree, he was great in Wolverine, so I have no doubt, he'll lead, if not, steal this movie.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

I can not wait to see the acting of Sanada Hiroyuki, he is one of the greatest.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

>The film has been given a fantasy touch, with CG-generated monsters added in.

And a half-British samurai.

Oh well, it's all entertainment. Goemon was not that bad as light entertainment, let's see what they come up with. Aimed at kids in any case, perhaps some will be interested enough to read some history.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Rinsch said he was confident the film, with its timeless themes, would appeal to overseas audiences.

Ah yes, timeless themes... a band of "samurai" led by Keanu Reeves, battling CG monsters... a hot mess indeed!

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I saw the trailer and frankly it was pretty ridiculous.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Cat ears? so what. Ko Shibasaki looks great for her age.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Hmmmm....unusual to get a film released here before it gets to other countries. I wonder why this one got fast-tracked?

In any case, I might give this a miss. If I want to hear delusional romanticising of a fictional past, I'll speak to the LDP.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

The film has been given a fantasy touch,

That's quite an understatement.

More like a complete rewriting, except for the title.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@OssanAmerica

I saw it and was intrigued looked like a cross between Sentochihiro, 47 ronin (the original) and the matrix, i just want to see it, to see what it is about.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Did anyone else notice Mr. Reeves is wearing his "sad Keanu" suit jacket? :)

0 ( +1 / -1 )

A "half-breed"? Who the hell wrote this?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"Half-breed" is how the character is referred to in the movie.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

With how many times J-entertainment has presented altered J-history (e.g. how many different Oda Nobunaga are there?!), this would just fit right in.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

"CG generated monsters"

Couldn't they just get a guy to put on a rubber Godzilla suit? That would be much better, heck, Godzilla might even be able to save this film!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Great. I look forward to hearing all the comments on how awesome Sanada, Kikuchi, and the other Japanese cast were, but that it is historically inaccurate and a 'foreigner' should not have been the hero (like with The Last Samurai). For the record, Sanada is one of my favorite and most respected actors, and I think Kikuchi is also very deserving of respect, and very talented.

Anyway, should be an interesting flick.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

I saw this on an early screen play. This definitely has a heavy Matrix influence. I thought they embellished the fantasy a bit much. Almost has an anime feel to it. I'm probably biased because I love the OG 47 Ronin. And I'm biased against Kenau Reeves since I don't think he can act at all but somehow he's kinda suitable for characters such as this. Its an ok movie. 6.5 out of 10.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Oh complain complain complain. Lack of realism and accurate "history" in movies! The shock, the shock. Definitely going to see this cast having a rocking great time.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"Reeves, 49, stars as a “half-breed” (British-Japanese), who joins a band of samurai to avenge the death of their master by a ruthless shogun."

More preposterious b.s. from make believe land. A "halfu" would of never been accepted by anybody from the samurai caste, probably less so by any ronin outlaw (comparable to the uyouku today). Foriegners were beheaded in those days, just for being a foriegner, and we can see their markers in the gaijin bochi. It actually discredits the original story, as hollywood so often does, in order to market a Western audience

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

how many times J-entertainment has presented altered J-history

There is nothing wrong with a Japanese fantasy movie. It is not being represented as a historical movie and will not be mistaken for one.

More preposterious b.s. from make believe land.

That is what fantasy is about, the make bellieve. Not everything has to be real.

Foriegners were beheaded in those days, just for being a foriegner,

I was under the impression they were beheaded for not following the rules of the times in Japan, ie: not bowing when they should, etc. Different times, different customs. Again, not everything has to be real. Let people make believe a little.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

That battle ship dude was in this one. bad acting. Someone please tell me he wasn't in the new thor.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I simply interpreted this as a J-Jantasy Film and left it at that. As I have two versions of the Tale of the 47 Ronin, it was the only way I could stomach it

0 ( +0 / -0 )

OssanAmericaNov. 19, 2013 - 09:13AM JST

I saw the trailer and frankly it was pretty ridiculous.

Yes, I agree. The idea was good, ...sadly they made it like those awful Korean/Chinese movies with lots of CG generated "action"
0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Foreigners were beheaded in those days, just for being a foreigner..."

That would make for a very short movie. Keanu Reeves's character arrives. He's beheaded. The end.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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