A dominant Whitaker lords over this flawed mixture of history and intrigue.
Comment
10/13/06
The Last King of Scotland (2006)
87
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:176
Fresh:153
Rotten:23
Average Rating:7.3/10
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
...an intriguing hybrid of Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness...
10/13/06
Forest Whitaker checks in with his most powerful performance since tackling Charlie Parker in Bird.
10/13/06
We are in awe not that the character is so wildly unstable, but that Whitaker has made such a wildly unstable character seem so natural.
10/12/06
A terrifically engaging biopic of 1970s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, who is played with the sort of extraordinary yet restrained force that only great actors like Forest Whitaker can manage.
10/12/06
Through its very specific story, the movie illustrates how absolute power can corrupt those who wield it, resulting in a man who, once ensconced as a nation's leader, uses all his available resources to ensure his own survival.
10/12/06
Watching Garrigan squirm in his gilded cage has its charms. But Whitaker is the one to keep your eyes on, and his work is the stuff of Oscar gold.
10/12/06
Rare 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 CriticThe sheer force of Whitaker's performance guarantees that he remains the central focus even when he's not in front of the camera. Paradoxically, you can't take your eyes off him, even when he's not there.
10/11/06
Whitaker dynamically gets his teeth into Amin, capturing the schizoid conscience of a would-be king. Given Whitaker's dominating presence, it's practically a coup that Macdonald would keep him waiting in the wings for half the film.
10/10/06
A solid dramatic thriller in its own right is lifted into higher territory by superb performances, intriguing subject matter, and impressive direction
10/10/06
...may be seen as this year's "Hotel Rwanda," but...its viewpoint from inside the palace walls makes it more intimate, and therefore oddly, less devastating, drama.
10/07/06
The film belongs to Whitaker, who in a career best performance charms, rages and murders his way into the history books.
10/07/06
As Amin, the actor holds every scene he's in with a kind of explosive gravity.
10/06/06
Top CriticMacdonald has delivered a masterful tragedy, told in his characters' wary eyes.
10/06/06
At 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 CriticThe key achievement, in this vividly shot and superbly cast drama, is to make us fear for the slightly contemptible Garrigan but feel mostly for Ugandans, even (a little) for Amin.
10/06/06
The subject is really Garrigan, the embodiment of the West and its naive habit of looking at the Third World and seeing what it wants to see.
10/06/06
Whitaker is so good as to ensure that anyone who sees the film will never forget Amin again.
10/06/06
Latest News for The Last King of Scotland
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December 06, 2007:
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November 14, 2007:
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