Tom Cruise made one of his celebrated walkabouts before the British premiere of his blockbuster "The Last Samurai" on Tuesday.

Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz arrive for the U.K premiere of 'The Last Samurai' at the Odeon cinema, London, January 6, 2004. [Reuters]

A beaming Cruise signed autographs, answered people's mobile phones and chatted to some of the thousands of fans who packed London's Leicester Square.

"You never get used to this, it's incredible," Cruise, 41, wrapped up against the cold in a black suit and black jumper, told Sky News.

His actress girlfriend Penelope Cruz, wearing a low-cut red evening gown, left for the warmth of the cinema after a few minutes.

Cruise spent 90 minutes greeting people before the UK premiere of his last film, the science fiction thriller "Minority Report."

His latest film is directed by Edward Zwick and raked in a modest $24.4 million in its first three days at the North American box office.

Cruise stars as Nathan Algren, a disenchanted U.S. Civil War veteran sent to Japan to train the imperial army in modern warfare.

Captured by Samurai fighters, Algren learns the life of the ancient warriors and ends up fighting with them against the emperor's troops.

"This movie is going to take you to a different place and a different time," Cruise promised at a recent news conference.

But U.S. reviews have not all been kind. The New York Post called it a "pandering epic that is as phony as it is condescending," while USA Today said it was "stolid and humorless."

The Chicago Sun Times said it was "beautifully designed, intelligently written, acted with conviction -- an uncommonly thoughtful epic."

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