Writer: Michael Konyves, Dove Sussman (Screenplay)
Starring: Clive Owen, Morgan Freeman, Aksel Hennie, David Adegboyega, Cliff Curtis, Tsuyoshi Ihara
Plot: A fallen warrior rises against a corrupt and sadistic ruler to avenge his dishonoured master.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Horrendously Slow Start Solid Finish
Story: Last Knights starts by teaching us about an elite group of soldiers Raiden (Owen) is one of these great knights. These knights would be responsible for many body counts and helped build a country. Commander Raiden is a loyal knight to Lord Bartok (Freeman) who gets a message from the new minister Gezza Mott (Hennie) which leads to friction between Bartok and Raiden as Raiden believes they should accept the meeting while Bartok refuses to be demanded. Bartok is the last in the family line and is slowly dying, he has picked Raiden to be his replacement as he reluctantly accepts the honor.
Raiden talks Bartok into attending the meeting and along with his men who get led by Lt Cortez (Curtis). Bartok chooses an insulting gift for the new minister as we see a game of one up man ship happening between the two leaders while the two second in command Raiden and Ito (Ihara) bond over mutual respect. Bartok ends up attacking the minister leading to him having to face the Emperor who has to decide his fate. The Emperor chooses death and Raiden has to be the one to kill his master.
Gezza Mott is worried that Raiden will come for revenge and goes straight to the Emperor to try and deal with this new problem. The Emperor refuses to until there is proof because once he turns on a warrior he will lose the trust of all of the soldiers. One year passes and all of the men have now gone their separate ways and Gezza Mott is still showing the scares of his confrontation between Bartok but his power has continued to go to his head. Raiden has fallen back into his ways of drinking where he makes his bad decisions.
Cortez has secretly been planning to get revenge for his Lord’s death along with a small group of the remaining warriors. When Gezza Mott gets yet another promotion by the Emperor we continue to see how his obsession with Raiden take over him even after Raiden sells his sword losing what is left of his. All of Raiden’s work has been an act until Gezza Mott finally lowers his guard and he and his men can attack avenging their master’s death.
Last Knights is a solid revenge film but it does have its problems, the whole opening half of the film comes off very slow moving and then suddenly it jumps a year forward. The jump gives us nothing but more nothingness happening before revealing there is a bigger plan, once we see this we start to get interested but this is over an hour into the film. I feel this could have easily had a large amount cut and still been interesting but the good final act won’t get watched by enough people because of how slow the start ends up being. (5/10)
Actor Review
Clive Owen: Commander Raiden is Bartok’s most loyal knight and a true warrior who helps advice Bartok through his decisions. When Bartok enrages the emperor Raiden is forced to kill Bartok which then leads him to run the house and become lord. Clive way once tipped to be the next James Bond, seriously what happened, he has slipped off the face making films that constantly fail in the cinema. (5/10)
Morgan Freeman: Lord Bartok is Commander Raiden master and ends up enraging the minister before being put to death by the Emperor. He goes out after making a powerful speech to try and show the corruption Gezza Mott has created. Morgan doesn’t seem to be at his best here and doesn’t end up being around as long as we would have liked. (5/10)
Aksel Hennie: Gezza Mott is the new minister who wants gifts and after Bartok gives him an insulting gift he ends up getting him killed before wanting to protect only himself from his coward like ways he has created around himself. Aksel does actually give a good performance as the cowardly minister who is only after making himself safe. (7/10)
Cliff Curtis: Lt Cortez is the one man Raiden has put in charge to make him a general of all of the warriors, he trains them to become the best before leading them into battle. Cliff does a good job in this role where he gets to show a kick ass side with the battles but his humble size between them. (7/10)
Tsuyoshi Ihara: Ito is the leader of the warriors working for Gezza Mott, he is all about honor and respect and doesn’t care which side you are on as long as you respect the ways. Tsuyoshi manages to play the character that is meant to be siding with the villain and make him come off as a good character very well. (7/10)
Support Cast: Last Knights has a large supporting cast that all help with the battles scenes and the politics being played out by the minister. They do all help with explanation of what is going on.
Director Review: Kazuaki Kiriya – Kazuaki does a solid job directing because the opening half is very slow going but the final act is all pulled off with great action packed sequences. (6/10)
Action: Last Knights puts together the fighting sequences very well and the wait for them to happen is well worth it. (7/10)
Settings: Last Knights creates settings that look very much like the part for the time period created for the events to take place in. (9/10)
Suggestion: Last Knights is one to try, I personally think it was bit too slow but the final act saves it all, but if you enjoy the film set in the era of honor you will enjoy this one. (Try it)
Best Part: Battle between Ito and Raiden.
Worst Part: Slow starting.
Action Scene Of The Film: Final sequence.
Funniest Scene: He can keep the box too.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Runtime: 1 Hour 55 Minutes
Overall: Last Knights is a solid film about honor that starts very slow but finishes strong.
Rating