Following Japan`s surrender in World War II, General Bonner Fellers arrives in Japan (Matthew Fox) as part of General MacArthur`s (Tommy Lee Jones) delegation, with the mission of covertly determining if Japanese Emperor Hirohito should be tried for war crimes. His efforts are generally thwarted by the Japanese political cabinet`s reluctance to disclose the extent of the Emperor`s endorsement of the war effort, as well as the latter`s perceived status as the son of heaven.
Unfortunately for us viewers, Fellers seems more obsessed with uncovering the fate of his love interest, school teacher Aya (Eriko Hatsune), whom he met in America before war broke out. The result is a movie that ping pongs between its slightly stronger moments of political intrigue and its stodgy romantic subplot, and ends up going nowhere fast.
One would expect director Peter Webber to milk Tommy Lee Jones` entertaining performance for all it`s worth. Alas, Emperor fails to capitalize on Lee`s portrayal of MacArthur as a politically savvy, Machiavellian general with an ego larger than a battlecruiser, relegating him to a background character, albeit one with all the good lines. What it does instead is preach a vaguely sanctimonious message about cultural relativism, which is well-intended, but doesn`t help the movie`s already cluttered narrative.
The most interesting scene in Emperor comes near its conclusion, when Lee`s MacArthur finally comes face-to-face with Emperor Hirohito (Takataro Kataoka), and the dynamics at play between the two men. By then, however, the only thing left for the viewer is to wonder why the movie hadn`t focused on that element in the first place.
Summary: Woefully short on political intrigue.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Raphael Lim
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