47 Ronin

47 Ronin - Dir. Car Rinsch (2013)

47 Ronin is the latest in a string of blockbusters that have suffered from overblown budgets and production delays. Much like World War Z and The Lone Ranger, 47 Ronin attracted negative buzz long before it was ever released. Universal was in desperate search for the next big thing, one that would line their pockets the way the Fast & Furious franchise has. After costly failures like Battleship and R.I.P.D., the studio was probably banking on 47 Ronin to reverse their misfortunes as well as appeal to the lucrative Asian markets that are so important today. Originally scheduled for release November of 2012, it was pushed back twice to accommodate extensive reshoots and special effects work amidst rumors of producers clashing with an overwhelmed, first-time director. The fact that 47 Ronin collected only $2.8 million in Japan, despite being based on a renowned legend in that country, says a lot about the movie's quality.

47 Ronin is set in 18^th century Japan though it was primarily shot in Budapest and London. The city of Ako has grown prosperous under the rule of the benevolent Lord Asano (Min Tanaka). However, the power-hungry Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano) covets everything Asano has, including his beautiful daughter, Mika (Kou Shibasaki), who is in love with the orphaned Kai (Keanu Reeves). Half-British and half-Japanese, Kai was found running through the forest as a boy and taken in by Asano though almost everyone else treat him as a lowly half-breed.

During a visit by the Shogun (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), the witch Mizuki (Rinko Kikuchi) casts a spell on an unsuspecting Asano that causes him to mistakenly attack Kira. Humiliated in front of the Shogun, Asano is forced to commit seppuku in order to save his family from further disgrace. All his lands are given to Kira while Asano's loyal samurai, led by Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), are disbanded and forbidden from taking revenge. After spending a year of imprisonment, Oishi seeks to reunite his scattered brethren, avenge their fallen master, and rescue Mika from the clutches of Kira.

47 Ronin is an awkward fusion of the classic jidaigeki with the modern Hollywood blockbuster. The filmmakers attempted to stay faithful to the original legend while making it appealing to Western audiences by introducing mythological beasts, black magic, and a wealth of computer generated images. It's clear they were aiming to create another Lord of the Rings. Instead, the tone is so dour and self-serious that 47 Ronin fails to be the rousing fantasy the studio envisioned.

Carl Rinsch, a former commercial director, makes his feature debut here and he's certainly no hack. Yet, it's clear that he is a visual filmmaker without a firm handle on emotional beats. 47 Ronin only truly shines during the climax in which the samurai raid Lord Kira's compound. There's also a chaotic sequence ripped straight out of Pirates of the Caribbean, where Oishi rescues Kai from a Dutch trading post. Unfortunately, these exciting moments are few and far between.

While Oishi is nominally the lead protagonist, the narrative doles out an equal share of screen time for Kai. Not only is he a less interesting character, Reeves turns in another stiff performance and he's a couple decades too old to be playing the part. And let's not get into a convoluted origin story that involves a sect of bird-like monks with mystical powers. At least, Sanada is a strong enough actor to provide the dramatic gravitas that 47 Ronin desperately needs. Aside from those two, you would be hard pressed to pick any of the other ronin out of a line-up. None of them are allowed to display any distinct characteristics aside from a handful of tired archetypes. There's the jolly fat guy, the babyfaced rookie, and the jerk that eventually learns to respect Kai. The only other memorable cast member is the beautiful Rinko Kikuchi vamping it up as a shape-shifting seductress, who can change into a dragon or a flurry of undulating fabric.

A major studio production with a predominantly Asian cast is always welcome at the local multiplex, just too bad it had 47 Ronin, a thoroughly forgettable and uninspired affair.

Rating: * ½ (*****)

Battleship

Battleship - Dir. Peter Berg (2012)

The idea of adapting a board game into a movie isn't unprecedented. In 1985, Paramount turned Clue into a comedic mystery that cleverly used multiple endings. While it did poorly at the box office, Clue has built up a cult audience due to home video and cable TV airings. Still, it seems like the studios are running short of ideas if they're turning to old board games for concepts. Monopoly is in development, Adam Sandler is attached to produce and star in Candyland, and Universal wants to turn Ouija into a low-budget horror film ala Paranormal Activity. I suppose it's only a matter of time before they make Hungry Hungry Hippos as a white knuckle jungle adventure or Operation as a gripping hospital drama. Until Connect Four: The Movie hits theaters nationwide, Universal and Hasbro have teamed up bring us Battleship.

Taylor Kitsch, in his second blockbuster of the year, stars as Alex Hopper, a professional screw-up, who gets in trouble with the law after breaking into a convenience store for a frozen chicken burrito. Why in the world would he do that? To impress the lovely Brooklyn Decker, who plays a physical therapist named Samantha Shane, the daughter of a stern Admiral (Liam Neeson) in the U.S. Navy. Admiral Shane also happens to be the commanding officer of Alex's older brother, Stone (Alexander Skarsgard). Stone forces his younger sibling to enlist in the Navy in the hopes they will straighten him out.

Years pass and the Hopper Brothers are stationed off the coast of Hawaii where they are to participate in a war games exercise with a Japanese fleet. The simulation turns deathly real with the arrival of alien scout ships that have followed NASA transmissions back to Earth. The extraterrestrial invaders sink two ships and erect an impenetrable force field around a section of the sea. Only the USS John Paul Jones is left with Alex assuming command as all other senior officers have been killed. Meanwhile, another squad of aliens is building a communications array on the mainland to contact their home planet. The only humans able to stop them are a nerdy NASA scientist (Hamish Linklater), Samantha, and one of her patients, Lt. Col. Canales, played by war vet and real-life amputee Gregory D. Gadson.

"From the studio that brought you Transformers," has been utilized prominently in the film's marketing campaign. The phrase is fitting because Battleship seems to have sprung from the mind of Michael Bay. Every aspect of Battleship has a Bay-esque feel to it, from the production design to the sound effects. The filmmakers even brought on Steve Jablonsky, who scored the Transformers series, to score Battleship. The aliens' spacecraft and weaponry look like they were bought from a Decepticon garage sale. Director Peter Berg shoots his action sequences with the same frenzied, kinetic pace as Bay. Scenes of massive urban destruction appear to have been pulled directly from Armageddon. At least, Battleship isn't replete with the misogyny and racial stereotypes generally found in Bay productions. The script by Erich & Jon Hoeber (who also wrote Whiteout and Red) is riddled with plot holes, a leaky vessel to use nautical parlance. The aliens knock out the Navy's communications and radar with an electromagnetic pulse, yet the crew still has access to digital monitors and other electronic devices. The screenplay isn't subtle either as it constantly hammers home how Alex is full of wasted potential.

The main reason to knock out the radar is to allow the filmmakers to incorporate the hit-and-miss strategy of the original game. The crew of the John Paul Jones utilizes buoys to create a grid in order to detect where the enemy ships are. The aliens also use missiles made to look like the game pegs. Sadly, no one utters the catchphrase, "You sunk my battleship." Though one character does say, "No one's gonna sink this battleship." The aliens themselves are pulled off in an interesting manner. They are humanoid with a convenient weakness, but have clear rules of engagement

Kitsch isn't as leaden here as he was in John Carter, maybe because he's able to play it a little looser. Still, you can't help but wonder how the film would have unfolded had Alexander Skarsgard been cast in the lead. Fans of Friday Night Lights will be pleased to see Kitsch reunited with former castmate Jesse Plemons as the requisite comic relief sidekick, a role also taken by Hamish Linklater. Pop sensation Rihanna makes her acting debut as a scrappy weapons specialist, a role usually reserved for Michelle Rodriguez. She does fine in the limited role and gets one of the movie's best lines ("Mahalo, motherfucker.") Meanwhile, Liam Neeson is wasted in a throwaway part though I'm sure he got a nice, fat paycheck.

Battleship is everything audiences have come to expect from a summer blockbuster: loud, dumb, and full of expensive special effects. Taken on that level, it may be enjoyable to those looking for simple, escapist fun.

Rating: ** (*****)