It's been a little quiet around him in recent years, but now 'Matrix' star Keanu Reeves is ringing in a small comeback with his new film. In the fantasy spectacle '47 Ronin', which is based on an ancient Japanese legend, the 49-year-old plays a warrior who is supposed to support 47 samurai fighters on their bloody vendetta. Sounds like a lavish Hollywood spectacle - and it is. The 3D film cost around 175 million dollars. Unfortunately, it didn't help, because the film already flopped mercilessly in the USA.
And in this country, too, it is questionable whether the film will really make the box office ring, but unfortunately the implementation of the myth, which every child in Japan knows, leaves a lot to be desired. Although the film begins quite dynamically and comes up with some impressive 3D effects, these lose their effect just as quickly as the story: The lawless warrior Kai lives in the forests of the good-natured prince Asano von Ako and supports his samurai in hunting - due to much to their displeasure due to his dubious origin. Only the prince's daughter Mika takes a liking to Kai right from the start, and of course he likes her too. A love that, due to their different origins, is not allowed to be. When Asano is killed by a magical ambush by the rival Prince Kira, Kira takes over his kingdom and wants to marry Princess Mika. Asano's warriors, on the other hand, lose their leader and become masterless samurai, so-called 'Ronin', and seek revenge.
One year after the death of their prince and shortly before the prince's wedding, the former samurai leader Oishi rounds up his men and also gets Kai to help. Eyed with envy at first, he was finally accepted by the former samurai due to his skills and loy alty to Asano and also became a ronin. With '47 Ronin' they set out to put their revenge plan into action…
Even Keanu Reeves can't convince
Anyone who now thinks that everything is tailored to Keanu Reeves instead will be disappointed. Unfortunately, he doesn't really come into his own in his role as Kai until the second half of the film. Until then, Reeves' character seemed almost like a little boy who would like to get involved with the adults but is not yet allowed to. This could also be due to the fact that his role does not appear in the original legend of the '47 Ronin'. The character of Kai is a pure Hollywood invention and perhaps also explains why Reeves looks a bit pale throughout the film. Because despite his supposedly great love story, the viewer develops more of a sympathy for the initially stubborn ronin leader Oishi. It's from him that we learn the most about the three pillars of the Ronin legend - and despite the half-baked dialogue, it feels authentic. Unfortunately, Keanu Reeves looks pretty "Image".
Admittedly, fans of the action and fantasy genres will probably enjoy '47 Ronin' the most. While there's a risk that you'll get pretty bored during the more story-driven narrative, the 'magic moments' might comfort you. Die-hard fans of Hollywood twink Keanu Reeves should be pretty disappointed. One hopes for a somewhat more ambitious choice of roles for the Canadian in the future. Otherwise, we'll just have to make do with the old 'Matrix' films again - when in doubt, they always work…
