The Last of the Mohicans

I saw Villeneuve's Dune yesterday and the majestic shots left me cold and emotionally detached, so I put on The Last of the Mohicans after a long time and my heart suddenly rejoices – this is how you make a film that lets its amazing visuals tell the story of its heroes without forgetting the touching, almost Shakespearean tale. Thanks mainly to the iconic music and Mann's dynamic direction, it's a goosebump-inducing ride from the start. And the final half-hour is a blast that brings me to my knees every time. Magua is an incredible and thoroughbred motherfucker, you don't see many bad guys like that anymore. 90 % (10/22/2021)

The Last of the Mohicans goes against established customs of adventure films, whether it concerns the development of the plot or its culmination. Of course, I won't reveal it, but when it comes to the character development and the story, it does not alternate, as is usually customary, between purely thrilling and action-packed sequences and the slow ones. Instead, it carefully adds depth to its characters for almost an hour and a half, subtly sowing the seeds of omnipresent tension, only to unleash all the fate, romance, and action in a straightforward and brilliantly executed final section. Cooper's adaptation is by no means perfect, but, in the end, Mann might deserve some award because it is mainly thanks to him that most viewers feel like they just watched a flawless film. If there is something perfect in this movie, it is definitely the soundtrack, one of the best music compositions in history. (08/01/2006)

Although they murder the original story, luckily The Last of the Mohicans works primarily as a romantic adventure movie in itself. And very well at that. Plus, all negative impressions are pushed out of the mind by the unforgettable final sequence. If the whole movie had been like that, I wouldn’t have lost for words. Just forget about seeing anything that resembles the book. ♫ OST score: 4/5 (08/07/2007)

After many years I enjoyed The Last of the Mohicans again, finally on Blu-ray and in the original version. And it is still an amazing film, what else can I say. Hawkeye, Chingachgook and Uncas are great heroes just as Magua is one of the best bad guys I've seen in a film. Mann's direction cuddles with the breathtaking scenery, he manages to build tension before the action and then draw you in perfectly, the romantic subplot doesn't get in the way at all because it simply belongs to such adventure stories. And then, of course, there's the riveting finale, which, thanks to Jones and Edelman's music, makes you feel like everything is at stake. As I’ve already said, amazing film. Probably not essential to the history of cinema, but amazing nonetheless. (03/20/2023)

Mann is a directorial intellectual with a unique gift for entertaining the masses. Reason and the senses can only wonder at the image and music composition, and the ingenious skill in building subtle relationships between the characters breathes life into the film. However, The Last of the Mohicans is, with all due respect, just a perfectly dressed Indian woman who, thanks to her simple shallowness, gave me the impression of perfect sterility the entire time. Any unwinding of the threads of the audience’s empathy for fated love crumbles from the warfare and vice versa. When it was over, I had a feeling of half-satisfied libido and longed for at least an extra half hour. PS: Having a familiar central theme doesn't automatically make the whole soundtrack brilliant. (10/05/2007)