Stars: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ko Shibasaki, Tadanobu Asano, Min Tanaka, Jin Akanishi, Masayoshi Haneda, Hiroshi Sogabe, Takato Yonemoto, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Rinko Kikuchi | Written by Chris Morgan, Hossein Amini | Directed by Carl Rinsch

An ancient Japanese legend tells the story of 47 samurai, seeking revenge on a rival warlord who killed their master and banished them from their homeland, making them ‘Ronin’. 47 Ronin is the Hollywood take on this legend, throwing magic, giant beasts and fantasy adventure into the mix as the Ronin, lead by a ‘half breed’ known as ‘Kai’ (Keanu Reeves), seek to destroy Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano) and his witch protector (Rinko Kikuchi) and restore their honour.

The first thing to be said about 47 Ronin is that it is very CGI heavy. Some people find that kind of thing very annoying, although in this case I felt it did add a lot to the film. The magic felt a lot more potent,...