Emperor (12A)
Directed by Peter Webber
Three stars

If only Emperor had concentrated on the history lesson rather than fictitious romantic padding, it could have been a gripping and informative drama.

Tommy Lee Jones (below) is absolutely riveting as General Douglas MacArthur who in 1945 took control of a shell-shocked Japan and ordered General Bonner Fellers (Matthew Fox) to covertly investigate whether Emperor Hirohito was guilty of war crimes. If so he would be hanged and thus cause Armageddon in the region because he was revered as a god by his people.

This key and delicate question is diluted by Fellers's ridiculous search for the love of his life, a Japanese exchange student he met years earlier in the US.

While Jones is outstanding as MacArthur, Fox's Fellers is bland and insipid. Emperor only comes to life when Jones is on the screen - which isn't often enough.

A fascinating tale, ruined by the ridiculous Mills and Boon storyline.

MARIA DUARTE