Finally a Tom Cruise movie I can buy. I really enjoyed this movie. Bravo to the director, the custom designer and whoever picked the location.
I really enjoyed it on the big screen and would like to buy it on DVD. It was pretty spooky when the rifle regiment got wiped out by the samurai in the fog filled forest. I liked the costumes and sets and the ninja were not superhuman, thus much more believable. I believe I would watch it enough times to make it worth while to purchase vs renting it a few times.
I think the point was that, just as Kevin Costner lived with the Indians, adopts their ways, and came to identify more with their viewpoint, so Tom Cruise lives with the samurai, adopts their ways, and becomes sympathetic with their viewpoint. John K.
I saw this in the theaters too, opening night and really enjoyed it. I actually thought it was an exceptional film, even though it had your typical clichéd ending. I ended up buying this on DVD.
It was filmed in New Zealand. I liked the film overall, especially Wanntabee's performance. I thought Tom was a bit over the top in the beginning but he nailed it at the end.
Saw this one at the movies - it was better than I expected it to be. The plot was somewhat derivative of Shogun, but it was well-done.
Finally, a film where a white man saves an exotic cutlure from themselves, teaching the emperor of Japan about his own civilisation. Whoopee! And just when you think Hollywood was getting over that stuff. Tom Cruise is trying so hard to be all serious and meaningful in this movie, I kinda feel for the li'l fella. But, if you can put the arrogance and naivetie of the film aside, it can be an enjoyable bit of eye-candy.
Actually, THE COLOR OF MONEY is a terrific movie, and probably Cruise's -- and for my money, Martin Scorsese's -- best. He co-stars with Paul Newman, also in one of his absolute best performances. The real hero of this film, though, is screenwriter Richard Price. This is one of the most perfectly written films I've ever seen. THE COLOR OF MONEY gets little critical respect because: 1. Although it's completely self-contained, it's ostensibly a sequel, to THE HUSTLER. 2. It violates auteur theory, since Scorsese didn't write it. 3. It utilizes Cruise's well-established iconography as "the arrogant apprentice," which means the film is usually classified as just another installment in a series of similar star vehicle performances. If you haven't seen it, do so. If you have and wonder what all this fuss is about, watch it again. I love the cameo by Forrest Whittaker, whose "Do you think I need to lose weight?" is one of the more soul-crushing insults delivered on film. You have to watch it to understand it.
Critical respect means diddley - it's the box office numbers that count to Hollywood and whether or not it's a good film is in the eye of the beholder...or the ticket-holder, as the case may be.
Yes, but I don't know if opening weekend means much anymore. Opening weekend BO returns say nothing about the actual movie but more about the ad campaign. It's the following month of ticket sales that determine if people actually like the movie.
