Watch The Japanese Teaser For Keanu Reeves' Starrer 47 RONIN

You know, part of me feels bad for 47 Ronin. Plagued by production delays largely laid by press and industry at the feet of Carl Rinsch, the former commercial director seeming to be overmatched by the sheer scale of what he had undertaken as his feature debut, then hammered by Japanophile fans for the massive revisionism of an actual historical event within the film, I can't help but wonder what the response to the first trailer would have been like had the production occurred in a cone of silence with the film named anything other than 47 Ronin. Would some still sneer at the sight of Keanu Reeves wielding a katana? Probably, but it's hard to imagine that the reaction would have been nearly as nasty as it was.

All of this to say that the Japanese have now gotten into the trailer game for the film with a shorter teaser that gets in, throws a bunch of visuals in your direction, and gets out before it overstays its welcome. And, hey ... the visuals look as good as Sucker Punch and the script can't be nearly as bad, right?

Keanu Reeves makes an explosive return to action-adventure in 47 Ronin. After a treacherous warlord kills their master and banishes their kind, 47 leaderless samurai vow to seek vengeance and restore honor to their people. Driven from their homes and dispersed across the land, this band of Ronin must seek the help of Kai (Reeves)--a half-breed they once rejected--as they fight their way across a savage world of mythic beasts, shape-shifting witchcraft and wondrous terrors.

As this exiled, enslaved outcast becomes their most deadly weapon, he will transform into the hero who inspires this band of outnumbered rebels to seize eternity.

Check the new trailer below.