First of all, this movie is a potpourri of accents, most of which makes for VERY awkward line deliveries and just stilted English.Next, the annoying mish-mash of cultures and ethnic identities, alongside the equally annoying meta-historical timeline, is not only forced, but embarrassingly hokey.Finally, the script is badly paced and the arcs never come, or if they did, they were sooo subtle that they flew over my head. I have read that it is originally a Japanese story; unfortunately, its transposition was just not handled craftily enough for a non-Japanese audience. Frankly, this isn't even fun kitsch.

So, visually this movie was gorgeous. It was well acted (Morgan Freeman!) and the score was wonderful. The plot, in summary:Bad guy is corrupt. Morgan Freeman tries to kill him for being corrupt. He fails. Morgan Freeman sacrifices himself for honour. Bad guy gets more corrupt and goes crazy thinking Morgan Freeman's followers are going to kill him so builds a big palace financed by bribes. All of Morgan Freeman's followers plot in silence. Emperor says "Hey bad guy, you get a promotion and I'm outlawing bribes so you can't be corrupt any more". Bad guy gets killed, so do half of Freeman's followers in the ensuing chaos. That's it. Things go back to normal, more or less. Movie ends. Commander of bad guys meets fate in a Soprano's-esque ending leaving you go "Well what happened?"So, yeah, if you like ambiguous allegories about honour and high fantasy you might enjoy this. If you like plots that make sense please look elsewhere as you're going to leave frustrated.

I loved this movie, I was left floating in the mystery! The actors were excellent and compelling. The cinematography edgy beautiful and emotional. The direction was good enough. The editing was occasionally choppy, but all in all continuous of the edgy, beautiful and emotional. I wanted more when it ended. I felt like I was "in" the story, part of the ensemble. The women's roles were meatier than the men's, unusually so. The men's roles were notable, full of testosterone bravado and moral hi ground competition. The costumes were well put together and believable, while producing a borderline sci-fi look. Not unlike a comic book novel, this movie looks to be one that all ages can ride upon the storytelling. I was captured by the elegant elevated values spoken by the stars. I suspect it is good teaching for our young, a hidden education in a diverse cast, crew and production. I recommend it to everyone. Great for budding and young men, but really for all!

Warning: There are spoilers in this review!!My husband and I really enjoyed this movie. We've watched it several times. We enjoy it every time we sit down to watch it. I love the story line. I disagree that the movie drags. On the contrary, the patience of it is what makes it so good. When you think they have given up and everything is lost is when things start to unfold. To have the patience of the commander, even when he knows he is destroying those around him and their faith in him. It was a great movie and very well put together, down to the cast and costumes. I definitely recommend it. I think rather than borrowing it from our library I will just buy it!!