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47 Ronin (2013)
47 Ronin (2013)
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Loses $150M and then some. $175M budget, $20M taken in so far.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
I don't know why this movie is getting a bad rap... it seemed perfectly serviceable to me, and a lot less stupid than a lot of movies that do well.
DISCLAIMER: I understand there is some source material: I know nothing about it. Childhood didn't get raped or anything.
I thought the use of magic was a strange decision, though. The movie would have been just fine with the chick being a master assassin instead of a witch.
DISCLAIMER: I understand there is some source material: I know nothing about it. Childhood didn't get raped or anything.
I thought the use of magic was a strange decision, though. The movie would have been just fine with the chick being a master assassin instead of a witch.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
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thibodeaux
- Posts: 8056
- Joined: Thu May 20, 2004 7:32 pm
I saw the trailer way back...in September maybe. Of course the title of the film is the last thing they show. And this trailer didn't look like any story I recognized, but in the middle of it, one guy says, "there are 47 of us." And I whisper over to my buddy: "oh, 47 Ronin." At the end of the trailer, he's like, "Damn how'd you know?"
You know how I know?
http://www.amazon.com/Frank-Millers-Ronin-Miller/dp/0930289218
You know how I know?
http://www.amazon.com/Frank-Millers-Ronin-Miller/dp/0930289218
Saw this a month ago and forgot about it. Easy to see how this went a zillion times overbudget. Universal bet $175M on a first-time director. But the screenplay was solid. Writing pedigree: the last shitty Conan movie, the last few Fast & Furious films, the Snow White movie with the Twilight chick that banged her director, and a fuckload of B pics.
Special effects:
The CG is over the top and a half. Expensive, prohibitively so, but entertaining to watch. Problem is that everything not involving special effects in this film is horrible. It's one reason why it drowned in red ink. The costume costs didn't help.
Acting:
Train wreck all-around. Everyone knows Ted "Theodore" Logan. However, some of you may also notice Rinko Kikuchi (chick from Pacific Rim) who's been miscast badly here. Shang Tsung also has a couple scenes as the Shogun. That does it for the American audience cast recognition. Japanese viewers were supposed to be drawn in by the dude who plays Kakihara in Ichi the Killer. In fact, all the Asian dudes you don't know are rather bankable stars in their homelands. Someone cast this movie specifically for a Pacific/Asian audience. Makes sense until you realize the script wasn't written for them.
Reread that last sentence.
Story:
This movie has as much to do with the traditional tale of the 47 Ronin as does watching Ronin with Robert DeNiro 47 times in a row. This is second reason it couldn't come within $20M USD of breaking even. That's beyond bad. It's like the one episode of "King of the Hill" where they do the revisionist Alamo reenactment, except worse. If you're Japanese or even if you just like the original story, this script is damn near insulting to you.
Verdict:
I hope people at the studio got fired over this.
Special effects:
The CG is over the top and a half. Expensive, prohibitively so, but entertaining to watch. Problem is that everything not involving special effects in this film is horrible. It's one reason why it drowned in red ink. The costume costs didn't help.
Acting:
Train wreck all-around. Everyone knows Ted "Theodore" Logan. However, some of you may also notice Rinko Kikuchi (chick from Pacific Rim) who's been miscast badly here. Shang Tsung also has a couple scenes as the Shogun. That does it for the American audience cast recognition. Japanese viewers were supposed to be drawn in by the dude who plays Kakihara in Ichi the Killer. In fact, all the Asian dudes you don't know are rather bankable stars in their homelands. Someone cast this movie specifically for a Pacific/Asian audience. Makes sense until you realize the script wasn't written for them.
... five Japanese actors were cast alongside Reeves: Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi, Kou Shibasaki, and Jin Akanishi. According to Variety, Universal chose them to make the story more authentic instead of picking actors that would be recognizable in the United States, despite the screenplay bearing no resemblance to the origin story of Chūshingura.
Reread that last sentence.
Story:
This movie has as much to do with the traditional tale of the 47 Ronin as does watching Ronin with Robert DeNiro 47 times in a row. This is second reason it couldn't come within $20M USD of breaking even. That's beyond bad. It's like the one episode of "King of the Hill" where they do the revisionist Alamo reenactment, except worse. If you're Japanese or even if you just like the original story, this script is damn near insulting to you.
Verdict:
I hope people at the studio got fired over this.
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
I thought the use of magic was a strange decision, though.
Ditto.
I enjoyed it. I don't know the original story at all.
Ditto.
I have a LOT of questions, and I'm pretty sure there were massive logic holes that would blow the entire story up, but I didn't hate watching it.
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”
47 Ronin
“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”