The way of the samurai Tinseltown revisits those legendarily stoic swordsmen who fought bloody battles -- honorably

The Last Samurai," which opens Friday, proves at least two things:Tom Cruise has come a long way from his tighty-whitey-floor-slidingdays, and Hollywood's ongoing fascination with the sword-wielding,honor-bound Japanese knights hasn't abated.

Cruise's character, American military man Capt. Nathan Algren, isa lost soul. Struggling to come to grips with an increasinglyindustrialized post-Civil War society, he feels worthless, out ofplace, not to mention deeply guilty for the battlefield atrocities heonce committed. Enter Japanese fighting man Katsumoto, ruler of anearly extinct breed: the samurai warrior. Eventually they meet, andAlgren becomes swept up in Katsumoto's …