The Last King of Scotland Reviews

I was thoroughly entertained by this film from start to finish that does a decent job highlighting Idi Amin's brutal rise to power with incredible storytelling style and phenomenal acting, but it does lack vital context that could've made it a more life-changing cinematic experience that exposes the origins of this event. Not as powerful as Kevin Macdonald's greatest film, 'The Mauritanian.'

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I have it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, to be honest, I always had some mixed feelings towards this movie. I mean, I did enjoy this flick but I can't say I was blown away and the main reason was that I didn't really appreciate this mix of historical facts with some complete fiction, especially the first time I saw the damned thing. Maybe you didn't know that before but the character played by James McAvoy, Dr. Nicholas Garrigan, is enterily fictional and has actually never existed and many of those events actually never took place. When I found this out afterwards, I felt rather cheated. Still, the directing is pretty good and efficient, James McAvoy gave a decent and convincing performance and, of course, Forest Whitaker completely rocked his performance and deservedly received an Academy award for his tremendous work. Honestly, I would rather have that they focused the story on him instead of focusing on this fake character but it wasn't meant to be, I guess. With this rewatch, I was this time more able to let go the fact that it was actually a fiction but it still didn't completely work for me though. I mean, the first half was fine but, again, they kept adding some rather improbable fictional events just to move on the plot and the second half was pretty much on auto-pilot. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it is still a good historical thriller, the actors were really awesome but, to be honest, I wish they didn't add all this fictitional stuff.

I loved the movie. It’s moving and brutal.

”An urban legend in Kampala says that before his rise to power, Amin visited a witch doctor and said he wanted to become Uganda's president. He was told that to do so, he would have to eat the heart of the one he loved most. Perhaps this was meant as a metaphor, but a few weeks later, Amin's eldest son disappeared.”

I moved around a lot as a child, and something I learned along the way was to be wary of people who wanted to become friends quickly. Obviously the main character in this movie never learned that lesson, and quickly became trapped as confidant to a capricious despot. If someone likes you that quickly, they will probably hate you that quickly as well. Although the acting is great, and the locations are fascinating, I really never found the characters to be interesting and found myself watching the clock, never really wrapped up in the story. A good movie for the historical and cultural aspects, but missing something in the all-around.

"If you're afraid of dying it shows you have a life worth living."

The Last King of Scotland is an intense, embracing thriller inspired by the true historical events of a horrible dictatorship that grappled Uganda throughout the 1970s. In the contemporary period of filmmaking it's an arduous undertaking to discover a film that truly stands out. With this film director Kevin Macdonald has outstandingly crafted a compelling drama abundant with tremendous power.

Nicholas Garrigan (McAvoy) is a flourishing young semi-idealistic Scottish doctor with an aspiration to escape from his conservative father. Nicholas moves to Uganda hoping to lend a hand and have some fun in the process. But he arrives in Uganda during a complicated time as the country is under the new leadership of President Ida Amin (Whitaker). Nicholas becomes inadvertently entangled with the president during a moment of crisis. Amin is highly impressed by Nicholas' attitude, medical skill, clever thinking and witty attitude: offering him a position as his personal physician and closest confidante. Although Nicholas is deeply honoured with the position he soon discovers the brutal savagery of Amin's regime. He had anticipated a wild escapade in a far-off country, but finds himself instead on a shocking ride into the darkest realm on earth: the human heart. Dismay and treachery ensue as Nicholas strives to right his wrongs and escape Uganda forever.

This mesmerising thriller goes exactly where you expect it will, but it's radiantly fuelled by the powerhouse performances from everyone in the cast. Forest Whitaker was correctly presented with an Oscar for his stunning portrayal. The actor carves an incredibly unforgettable portrait of a psychopathic dictator who ravaged his country. Whitaker's character progressively changes throughout the course of the film. At first he is friendly and forgiving. From Whitaker's charismatic portrayal an audience could never conceive this man turning sour. Sure enough into the second half his attitude turns bitter.

James McAvoy is a convincing young Scotsman. With every line he sounds like the genuine article (he was born in Glasgow). Like Whitaker's interpretation of President Amin, McAvoy's character also undergoes a substantial change throughout the movie. At first meek and willing to help, he is soon driven to gross determination as his single goal is to escape the country. The final few scenes in particular display a haunting performance by James McAvoy. Both central actors are absolutely unforgettable.

A drama in this vein relies on its steady performances as well as its visual images. The film is lavishly shot and showcases some absolutely gorgeous locations. Every minute of this film is as gripping as the minute preceding it. The storyline is particularly fascinating and never lets the viewer lose interest. Towards the film's conclusion the imagery becomes extremely heavy. This heightened sense of realism accurately displays the true atrocities that actually occurred. Due to the violence and grotesque images this is not a film for the faint of heart.

The Last King of Scotland is a brilliant drama elevated by its credible cast and concentrated directing. This is a nasty piece of history astoundingly told with a high level of realism. It's not entirely true to its source material of course (hence tagged as 'inspired by true events'); however the film is riveting and hard-hitting. An intricately created masterpiece that cannot be missed!

I just recently saw a preview for this movie, and I knew I had to see it. Now that I have, I definitely wasn't disappointed. This was a well-told story that keeps you hooked from start to finish.

I really enjoyed this movie, despite some brutal scenes, which were not overly drawn out. Well written, excellently acted.

Dr Garrigan (James McAvoy) expects to find exotism in Uganda. He certainly will find it, especially after meeting the country's President, Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) and becoming his personal physician. A chain of events will change Garrigan's life, forever.

Absolutely wonderful, brilliant cast. I especially approve of Whitaker's "African" accent in English. Excellent portrayal of those people. McAvoy's character is extremely naive and he does a great acting job.

The ending may be quite shocking to some, I myself couldn't bear to watch a few minutes of very gruesome (but necessary and justified) violence (after 1h45 minutes of watching).

Certainly not a disappointment.
A well directed film, I highly recommend it.

Sometimes when there is a movie you are looking forward to seeing and have certain expectations for you can end up being disappointed. I was far from disappointed with this film, I was absolutely riveted. Forest Whitaker put in a marvellous performance and did a fantastic job portraying a very scary man. I highly recommend this film and I think it's by far one of the best I've seen this year.