Mr. Whitaker and Mr. McAvoy head a first-rate cast that helps The Last King of Scotland to illuminate one of the many dark chapters in recent African history.
Comment
11/29/06
The Last King of Scotland (2006)
92
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:38
Fresh:35
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: Forest Whitaker's performance as real-life megalomaniac dictator Idi Amin powers this fictionalized political thriller, a blunt and brutal tale about power and corruption.
Theatrical Release:Sep 27, 2006 Limited
Box Office: $17,449,410
Synopsis: Forest Whitaker delivers a ferociously commanding performance as bloodthirsty Ugandan president Idi Amin in Kevin MacDonald's THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND. Adapted from the novel by Giles Foden, the... [More]
Starring: James McAvoy, Forest Whitaker, Gillian Anderson, David Oyelowo
Director: Kevin MacDonald
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Reviews for The Last King of Scotland
Top CriticSee the movie for Whitaker alone: He's possessed by evil and possesses it wholly, rendering the film (and everyone in it) his plaything.
10/13/06
Top CriticA good movie elevated by Whitaker's pitch-perfect performance.
10/13/06
Top CriticRare is the actor who can accomplish an instant transformation from beast to buddy, but Whitaker makes it look easy.
10/12/06
Top CriticThis is the sort of movie worth seeing for the performances alone.
10/12/06
Top CriticAs Amin, the actor holds every scene he's in with a kind of explosive gravity.
10/06/06
Top CriticAt its heart of darkness, the film is about the lure of power. It's a condemnation of all the dictators' men over all time.
10/06/06
Top CriticA compelling, though somewhat problematic, story set deep inside Idi Amin's brutal dictatorship in Uganda.
10/06/06
Top CriticMacdonald knows how to hold our interest, and he gives his movie a dizzying sense of momentum, not unlike the mad whirl that surrounds Amin.
10/06/06
Top CriticBy the end of this remarkable, uneven film, we believe that through Whitaker we have come to understand the very nature of power and corruption.
10/06/06
Top CriticThis is director Kevin MacDonald's first feature film, yet along with cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, he has produced a motion picture that will become an instant political classic.
10/06/06
Top CriticForest Whitaker gives a titanic performance as the general ... and as he seduces the naive young man into his murderous regime, director Kevin Macdonald unpacks the ignorance and arrogance that still characterize the West's attitude toward Africa.
10/06/06
Top CriticA shrewd commentary on misguided Western excursions into the 'dark continent.'
10/05/06
Top CriticThe movie uses a fictional device to get up close and personal, but I'm not sure the fictional device works.
10/05/06
Top CriticGreat as Whitaker is in this juicy slab of Oscar bait, Macdonald's movie doesn't have much to offer beyond a pair of stunning performances, propulsive editing, fantastic scenery and the heartbeat rhythms of African music.
10/05/06
Top CriticWhitaker is on fire, and as long as he's onscreen, King keeps you riveted.
10/05/06
Top CriticA spellbinding safari into the mind of His Excellency the madman.
10/05/06
Top CriticWhitaker doesn't so much play the Ugandan president and charismatic monster, deposed in 1979 and responsible for an estimated 300,000 deaths, as he lights a slow fuse on a highly complex bomb.
10/05/06
Top CriticForest Whitaker has been one of our most interesting actors for 20 years, and he gives the performance of a lifetime in The Last King of Scotland.
10/02/06
Top CriticThe film as a whole measures up to Forest Whitaker's performance. That's high praise indeed.
09/29/06
Top CriticLatest News for The Last King of Scotland
October 03, 2008:
Further Reading: Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker in Abel Ferrara's Mary
As the NFT in London prepares a Juliette Binoche season, Kim looks at Abel Ferrara's Mary which also stars Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker. More...
June 25, 2008:
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The action-thriller Wanted hits theaters this week, and though it's toplined by one of the biggest stars in the world (Angelina Jolie), it also features a young Scotsman who's... More...
December 06, 2007:
James McAvoy on Atonement: The RT Interview
Scottish actor James McAvoy has shot several films in the last few years (Becoming Jane, The Last King of Scotland, and the eagerly anticipated Wanted) but so far remains most... More...
November 14, 2007:
British Screenwriters Voice Support for Writers' Strike
The Writers' Guild of Great Britain has a message for Hollywood studios hoping to use British talent to scab over the Writers' Guild of America strike, and it isn't the message... More...
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