The Last Samurai
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: December 5, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 43 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
20
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
EmpireWill Lawrence
The Last Samurai is much more fun than a mere history lesson. Read full review
90
TimeRichard Schickel
A movie that demands our surrender -- to its energy, to its bold-stroke moviemaking, to its acting (particularly by Cruise and Watanabe, who blend musing and graceful muscularity) and, above all, to its romantic vision of a lost world. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Beautifully designed, intelligently written, acted with conviction, it's an uncommonly thoughtful epic. Its power is compromised only by an ending that sheepishly backs away from what the film is really about. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
A rousing tale that combines high adventure with emotional effectiveness. This movie works because it never loses sight of the characters no matter how epic the scope becomes. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
In his first role since turning 40, Cruise displays a likable new maturity, and an unexpected willingness to look weak and foolish. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Hugely satisfying entertainment that will attract a broad spectrum of audiences around the world. Zwick fully exploits the star power at his disposal, pairing off Cruise and Japanese star Ken Watanabe as two larger-than-life warriors. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Even if you think Cruise has never had a moment of doubt in his life, he makes Nathan's self-loathing palpable, and the character's regeneration has a hoarse, cautious purposefulness that's striking. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A handsome epic, a brave-hearted 19th-century man-saga from the director who made the period piece man-sagas ''Glory'' and ''Legends of the Fall.'' Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
May fall short of its great model, "Seven Samurai" (almost all action movies do), but it's miles ahead of most of the gadget-ridden adventure epics around now. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
An almost perfect example of mainstream Hollywood filmmaking at its most expensive, well-calculated and safe: opulent production values, solid acting from its name star, distinguished performances from people surrounding him, Big Themes concerning sacrifice and honor, and a ridiculous finale full of superhuman achievements. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Cruise's undeniable star voltage makes it all palatable, and the film is gorgeous to behold and even to listen to, from the rolling green hills to the galloping horses to the "Lohengrin"-like theme music on the sound track. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Cruise holds the center of the film with a sharply focused performance, though his bonding with the wise samurai chieftain (Ken Watanabe) is noticeably more ardent than his soggy romance with the stoic wife of a man he killed in combat. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
Taken on the level of spectacle rather than of sense, The Last Samurai affords the sort of fizzy enjoyment that can come with epic movie endeavors, including a meticulously detailed world unlike our own, an excellent supporting cast and some pulse-pounding fights. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Though serious, well-crafted and handsome, lacks most of the pungency of the epitome of the genre, "Lawrence of Arabia." Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
What is not debatable, however, is that Cruise is an actor of limited emotional resources, one who lacks the presence required for the film’s protagonist, a character intended to inhabit more than one dimension. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Grandly overblown and deeply cornball. Read full review
63
PremiereGlenn Kenny
Depends on how you're feeling about Tom Cruise--as opposed to the character he's putatively playing. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
It's not just Hollywood convention that gets in the way of the story, it's the lack of depth, heft and heart at its core. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
Cruise isn't horribly miscast, a la Tony Curtis in "The Son of Ali Baba" or John Wayne as Genghis Khan in "The Conqueror," but he doesn't miss by far. Read full review
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