47 Ronin is a fairly solid retelling of the legendary tale, if somewhat lethargic, murkily shot and presented in mostly unremarkable 3D. It lacks the demented energy of a late 80s Tsui Hark production, the eye-popping excesses of a Cat III exploitationer and the visual majesty of a Kurosawa, even though the film seems to aspire to all of these but within a 12A certificate. Set-pieces are hurriedly-realised and surprisingly brief, but the third act belatedly delivers with a well-staged final assault and some genuine character beats. Flat dialogue does not help, but it is good to see Keanu's relentlessly puzzled expression back on the big screen, Hiroyuki Sanada carries the heroic disgraced samurai leader with real dignity, and Tadanobi Asano and Rinko Kikuchi chew the furniture wonderfully as the boo-hiss villains. The most intriguing aspect of this film is that Universal chose to throw a mega-blockbuster budget at what might at best be a niche curiosity, especially as the result is rendered somewhat toothless and bloodless in the pursuit of a wide mainstream audience.
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