this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2025
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[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I might be terribly incorrect.

But i remember that Tom Cruise's character switches sides in the movie after spending time with the Samurai (He was captured by them). He trains under them and becomes a Samurai. In the end, they fight against the (British?) and lose due to a gattling gun. All the Samurai die except for Tom's character. So symbolically, Tom is the Last Samurai.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Yes, it's a classic "white savior" trope.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

What did he save? Literally everyone but Meiji-backed forces dies at the end.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

he die didn't save shit though :D

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

It is implied that Tom Cruise dies at the end. I think the confusion comes from a voice over, but you never see the character on screen again.

He also does not "become a samurai". He fights alongside them, but at no point do they call him a samurai.

Edit: looks like that link is wrong. He doesn't die at the end. I guess memory is a fickle beast.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

He also does not "become a samurai"

Correct. That's why I said symbolically.

but you never see the character on screen again

I maybe incorrect but towards the end of the movie, the Emperor asks how Katsumoto died, to which Tom Cruise replies "I'll tell you how he lived". So he was alive?

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Hm, I may need to rewatch it myself. That also doesn't match what the link above suggests about interpreting the ending: "Algren finds redemption through his newfound purpose and ultimately sacrifices his life for the cause he once opposed."

Edit: I just checked the last scene. You're right, he doesn't actually die. Which means the link is also wrong.

Still, I think it's a stretch to say he's the last samurai, since he never really becomes a samurai. One important note is that samurai is "samurai" in the plural, too.