Way too much narration, exposition and backstory at the beginning of 47 Ronin filled me with dread. It takes a few minutes and then we get Keaneu Reeves’ character, an orphaned servant, along with a batch of samurai going up against a mythical monster. Disgrace and dishonor take place. Then things drag out longer than necessary in the guise of character development. 15 minutes into the film and I’m bored.
I lasted just over a half hour before I ejected the disc. I couldn’t take it. 47 Ronin is slow, plodding, and in the nearly 40 minutes I saw, pointless. Heck, even that 5 minute scene towards the beginning with the mythical monster added nothing other than time despite attempting to showcase characters and culture.
I’ll admit to wanting a more faithful adaptation of the story of 47 Ronin. Even by offering up a stylized take on the story there are certain basic storytelling elements that simply aren’t present. Just skip 47 Ronin unless you really have a hankering for ancient Japanese pseudo-action.