Saw the film this summer, but was disappointed as I expected much more after all the awards and rave reviews.
Kitano plays good, but he has done as good (and better) many times, so there`s nothing surprising about this. 
Besides it`s a pretty standard narrative epic, as I`ve seen many before.
as hengcs pointed out, the film tells a universal story, but this was imo one of its weaknesses. You never connect much with the individual characters, because (besides Kitano) they aren`t given much importance. they are more types or figures that represent something the director wants to show, than actual persons. Too many clichees, and "obviousness" for me. I liked the beginning witht the young Kitano at the ship best. A marvellous scene that manges to say very much in just a few seconds. 
Overall too "standard" for me, but I liked it. Rating is a high **1/2 / ****