!!!SPOILERS!!!
Yes, Cruise waas very weird for the moive. Almost every shot he was in is him playing with the camera trying to look cool and contemplatative. He just doesn't fit if you really think about it.
However, he fits nicely into the plot if you don't consider his past movies and/or whatever you may think of him. A friend and I were trying to figure out who would have done better. We had real trouble. At the time I brought up the fact that comtemplatative roles are hard to fill. I mean, look at the Matrix. Reeves did a good job, but he still didn't fit that aspect of the role.
We still came to the conclusion that Chow Yung Fat did a great job. And Billy Connely's role was also quite good for a laugh. (He talks funny, hehe).
I didn't think I'd like it but it was one of the best movies I've seen all year. It speaks of the corruption of the Western civilisatin on such a balenced culture. It is an awful shame that it is now lost. That really hit the spot for me. Plus the parts about honour and death were also enlightening.
