The Last King of Scotland

The five-star Forest Whitaker in an otherwise average three-star film. This film shows how advanced Euro-American cinema approaches developing countries, where the main character of a film set in central Africa must necessarily be a white European to cater to the audience in economically advanced countries. Thus, the story of a British guy who comes to Africa to have fun and gain some life experience is attached to the drama of a dictator from Central Africa. However, the script failed to convincingly justify the existence of the main character, because the clear standout and magnet of the film is the self-proclaimed president Idi Amin, whom Forest Whitaker undoubtedly gave more charisma than the dictator had in reality. In my opinion, the main character should have been a black African who, for some reason, got close to the new leader of the country and was forced to witness all the madness and face Amin's sudden mood swings and chronic suspicion. It may not have been possible to completely ruin such a promising character as Amin, with long rows of corpses and countless crimes behind him, but Whitaker seized the opportunity and made the most of it, winning an Oscar. I wouldn't say it's his best performance on the big screen, but it is these socially critical roles that are awarded film prizes. Overall impression: 60%. (01/01/2012)

When the best thing about a whole movie is the main character's shirt, something is wrong. To be fair, though, there are two scenes that make this nonsense is survivable: the initial disposal of Castle's family has a certain amount of impact, and the fight with the Russian muscle-head to the accompaniment of an operatic aria, which is not without its comic exaggeration. The rest, full of ridiculous, pathetic poses, does not do credit to the creators, nor to the fluffy and dynamic comic book premise itself. Although I think Travolta shouldn't climb in front of the camera anymore, here he was mysteriously tolerable, while the mediocre Thomas Jane might not need a Shakespearean training for such a role, but I resisted the onslaught of my diaphragm every time I saw his badass face. But during the scene when the elevator goes up and there's Thomas turning on it, with a taut body under his tattered tank top and a harsh look on his face, I burst out laughing, I really couldn't help it :) (07/06/2007)

A decent film from an exotic setting with a young James McAvoy as a doctor and Forest Whitaker as a dictator in Kampala. I was expecting something grittier and more intense due to the theme and the harsh setting, but thankfully I didn't slip into boredom. Still, the film left me somewhat cold. 65% (11/16/2017)

A great Forest Whitaker, an underused James McAvoy (shame on the writers for ditching the main character like that!), a nice African setting, an even nicer Gillian Anderson... But the promised drama was where, exactly? Not that I was downright disappointed, but the film is completely lacking anything that should have shocked me or made me think "Wow, that Amin, what a monster..." Of course, I have no desire to see hundreds of thousands of people murdered, but what was it about The Last King of Scotland that was supposed to impress me? The final half hour or so? Yes, it was impressive. Explanatory captions with the number of victims of Amin's atrocity? Nope. (12/07/2012)

A brilliant film that somewhat exceeded my expectations, and you don't have to go far to find the main reasons. The depiction of the real events is very well done and the film not only goes by quickly but also builds up very impressively. Moreover, the atmosphere is strengthened by the serious political premise from a socially very unstable and tense setting, and in particular by the excellent performance of Forest Whitaker, who exudes incredible authority and generates unpleasant chills from the very first second. James McAvoy isn't lagging behind either, and he puts his life on the line, but it's Whitaker who steals the show and ultimately all the awards for himself. At first I had some sympathy for his character, but by the end I wanted to wring his neck. And that is what acting is mainly about. 85% (01/23/2013)