by Graeme Stirling
In this feature, we give you the lowdown on the hottest trailers around. What do we think? Are the movies going to be any good? First up is Keanu Reeves' new movie 47 Ronin.
Christmas is the time for big films, a coveted slot that can draw in huge audiences after months of teaser trailers. Millions of us saw the Lord of the Rings films back to back upon release. This December sees the much-delayed arrival of a different breed of stunningly visual-based fantasy adventure: 47 Ronin.
In this feature, we give you the lowdown on the hottest trailers around. What do we think? Are the movies going to be any good? First up is Keanu Reeves' new movie 47 Ronin.
Christmas is the time for big films, a coveted slot that can draw in huge audiences after months of teaser trailers. Millions of us saw the Lord of the Rings films back to back upon release. This December sees the much-delayed arrival of a different breed of stunningly visual-based fantasy adventure: 47 Ronin.
First of all, it’s not a sequel – or in any way related – to Ronin with Robert De Niro, an equally brilliant but, again, very different sort of film. 47 Ronin is based instead on an ancient and hugely popular Japanese legend, referenced in 1998’s Ronin and told by the wise, spaniel-resembling French doctor not long after removing a bullet or two from De Niro’s side. It is the tale of forty-seven samurai warriors, disgraced by the death of their master and sworn to take painstakingly planned revenge against his killer, sneaking into his house for a final showdown after a year or two of honourless wandering as mercenaries for.
The legend itself is a little different from the way it’s told in this nineties thriller. In truth, it is said, the master – a daimyo, or feudal lord – was ordered by the courts to commit seppuku – ritual suicide by disembowelment – after losing patience with a royal official and attacking him during preparations for a formal visit, wounding his face with a dagger. Such was the weight of the conservative values in feudal Japan that such an act of shame not only brought capital punishment but obliged the perpetrator to carry it out upon himself. Whilst forbidden to perform any act of vengeance, a group of the daimyo’s men plotted for a year before breaking into the official’s house and killing him, after which they themselves committed seppuku in the gardens for the crime of murder. The warriors are now entombed at Sengaku-ji in Japan and the gravesite has become a tourist attraction. The story of the ronin is so well-known in Japan that plays, books and films based purely on this tale are named as their own genre (Chūshingura). There’s even an annual festival, taking place on 14th December each year (less than two weeks before the film’s release date) commemorating the event. Unsurprisingly, the new big-screen take is going to be a little different.
The legend itself is a little different from the way it’s told in this nineties thriller. In truth, it is said, the master – a daimyo, or feudal lord – was ordered by the courts to commit seppuku – ritual suicide by disembowelment – after losing patience with a royal official and attacking him during preparations for a formal visit, wounding his face with a dagger. Such was the weight of the conservative values in feudal Japan that such an act of shame not only brought capital punishment but obliged the perpetrator to carry it out upon himself. Whilst forbidden to perform any act of vengeance, a group of the daimyo’s men plotted for a year before breaking into the official’s house and killing him, after which they themselves committed seppuku in the gardens for the crime of murder. The warriors are now entombed at Sengaku-ji in Japan and the gravesite has become a tourist attraction. The story of the ronin is so well-known in Japan that plays, books and films based purely on this tale are named as their own genre (Chūshingura). There’s even an annual festival, taking place on 14th December each year (less than two weeks before the film’s release date) commemorating the event. Unsurprisingly, the new big-screen take is going to be a little different.
First of all, Keanu Reeves. There have been plenty of comments flying around about the depressingly apparent need to insert white characters into such films in order to have them funded (see the last major feature about samurai and their struggles, which starred Tom Cruise). Reeves’ character in the film is half-Japanese and half-British and was invented solely for this adaptation. Being mixed race himself, including east Asian ancestry, Reeves kind of looks the part in the trailers, with the character also explaining his recent, gradual change to the Jesus hair and beard look. He is imprisoned and sold as a slave for political reasons, a la Gladiator, some time near the beginning of the film and later joins the rag-tag ronin group. As for other major plot changes, we see the involvement of potentially demonic villains and large-scale mythical creatures that Reeves and friends must fight their way past.
The key thing to take from the trailers, though, is the visuals. This is a film that is designed to impress the eye. Most fantasy features, world-building is an important aspect and everything from the inevitable cherry blossom orchard set pieces to the lavish costumes has been designed as boldly as possible, colours and textures splashed all over the place to create the escapist atmosphere that lends itself so well to heroic adventures. This is added to tried and tested aesthetic strength of period pieces (rendering the film far more interesting and satisfying to watch than the derivative, overblown three-hundred-million-dollar travesty that was Avatar). We see Reeves in bright ceremonial robes, being beaten by his jailers in a sun-drenched castle courtyard. We see him thrown into a dank pit prison hung with green vinery and, upon his rescue, dragged through what loos like a sea of wet rose petals. The film certainly catches the eye and, with its plot-meddling and the addition of some supernatural elements that will further show off the film’s (we hope) visual prowess whilst adding a little extra narrative, definitely keeps the viewer intrigued.
As for the negative sides, it really just comes down to Keanu Reeves. First, as mentioned before, comes the rallying against the insertion of white heroes to ethnic fantasy and historical tales. Fair enough. Second comes his reputation. It has forever been fashionable to attack Reeves’ acting style (any joke you can think of based around wood and/or stiffness has been done to death already) and to rank him among the lowest of the low in terms of range (yet, somehow, no one has a go at Toby Macguire). Should you hold the same views, this might well put you off. If not, and you’re a Keanu Reeves fan, it’ll do the exact opposite. In either case, there’s really nothing in this trailer that’s unappealing. Even for people with no interest in – and even an active distaste for – fantasy fiction (yes, me), it looks very promising indeed.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
Follow Graeme on Twitter!
As for the negative sides, it really just comes down to Keanu Reeves. First, as mentioned before, comes the rallying against the insertion of white heroes to ethnic fantasy and historical tales. Fair enough. Second comes his reputation. It has forever been fashionable to attack Reeves’ acting style (any joke you can think of based around wood and/or stiffness has been done to death already) and to rank him among the lowest of the low in terms of range (yet, somehow, no one has a go at Toby Macguire). Should you hold the same views, this might well put you off. If not, and you’re a Keanu Reeves fan, it’ll do the exact opposite. In either case, there’s really nothing in this trailer that’s unappealing. Even for people with no interest in – and even an active distaste for – fantasy fiction (yes, me), it looks very promising indeed.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
Follow Graeme on Twitter!
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