47 Ronin

Rated PG-13 / 1 hr 59 min / Action - Adventure - Fantasy

What is it about?

Keanu Reeves plays a man who was raised by demons, and escaped as a young boy.  He is taken in by people of Ako who treat him like he is an animal.  The lord of the region protects him, and gives him a place to stay.  The lord's daughter befriends Keanu's character as well.  The shogun of Japan comes to visit Ako, and a rival clan decides to show up.  A witch is there to wreck the party.  The result being that the lord of Ako is dead, and all of his samurai are declared to be ronin.  The shogun forbids that they seek revenge, but who's going to let that stop them?

You will like it if...

You like traditional Japanese style stories.  There are many anime series that take place in a similar world of demons, ghosts, witchcraft, and so on.  This is the 7th adaptation of this story, but the first Hollywood adaptation.  Like most Hollywood adaptations of Japanese stories they make the white man the hero.  Keanu definitely lends some star power, but I doubt that will help their ticket sales in Japan.  Keanu's acting is similar to some of his most recent movies where he has the emotional range of a block of wood.  For this type of story that is not necessarily a bad thing.  The special effects are fantastic for the most part.  There are two or three scenes where the CGI animation is noticably cartoonish.  As much as they use it, I'm surprised there aren't more.  Overall the movie has the Hollywood polish, but it's not the typical Hollywood movie.  I enjoyed it, but it's not for everyone.