Better to Rule in War than Serve in Peace

When I think of samurais, I cannot say that Wes Bentley (P2) is high on my list of people who would play one. But there he is in a haircut the borders on a mullet in Hirokin: The Last Samurai (which is not to be confused with the Tom Cruise flick, another very Caucasian dude whose name does not conjure up visions of samurais). Like any good sci-fi flick, this movie starts off with a heavy back-story: humans came to a new, stole all its resources, and then left aside from a few who stayed to rule over the original inhabitants. That is until one hero (Bentley, of course), haunted by his past, has to find a way to help the rebels rise up against their oppressors.

It should be noted that the alien race look identical to humans except you can see veins in their hands so a lot of the character spend the movie sticking their hands out like Diana Ross telling you to stop in the name of love. It is actually not that hard to tell the two races apart because for some reason the human warriors wear helmets, on a desert planet, that look like a cross between the one Boba Fett and the Cylons from the original Battlestar Galactica.

Really you can make a drinking game out of the Star Wars references from the Tatooine-type setting, Bentley’s Obi Wan Kenobi type robe, there is even a character that has a duel (though non-light) saber. The movie does pull out some cool moves of its own like Bentley’s bungee sword and an extremely evil and twisted game the antagonists make locals play for his own enjoyment, but really, most the characters fall flat (there is a pair shoehorned in for comic relief that should have been shoehorned in a little more) thanks to a think plot while a few actors were clearly phoning it in.

The DVD is also thin on extras. There are a few deleted scenes, but the menu lacks a “Play All” option. There are also three featurettes but all of them are under five minutes each.

Full Disclosure Notice: This DVD was given to me by Lionsgate to review.