El Último Caballero

It is unfair to be too critic about this film. Because it is a decent version of "47 Ronins" and a beautiful knights film. Because Clive Owens is perfect in his role and the story, not remarkable, is correct and interesting and well crafted. A film about revenge. In which the cinematography, the performances, the CGI are more than good. Impressive fight scenes, inspired end and the feeling to see an old fashion historical movie, technicall, at a better level. A real good film.

Although not mentioned , the story results to be a remake of the the 47 Ronin and and it boasts a splendid cast . it is based on the Japanese folk legend . Middle Age , an Europen country , this is an epic chronicling an ancient legend .As a group of military led by Clive Owen set out to avenge the dishonor and death of their master at the hands of a ruthless , corrupt Prime Minister, Aksel Hennie . Commanded by a fallen knight who was tricked into commiting an ominous execution , he is called Raiden ,and along with their knights rise against a nasty , sadistic ruler to avenge their Master , as every battle needs a hero . They are banished and isolated but Raiden rallies again his bunch and reforces the team . As their entire destiny lies in the hands of one knight .His threatened people made him a leader , the empire made him a renegade , history made him a hero .

Features noisy action , strong rivalry , thrills , emotion , intense drama and a lot of sword-play . It is made big scale with some breathtaking and spectacular battles such as the final assault on the impregnable fortress . The plot is ordinary and simple , as a rough emperor : Payman Maadi sentences a powerful feudal lord who is condemned to death and then his soldiers become Ronin : warriors with no master , and planning a scheme to revenge their dishonored Master , subsequently seeking vengeance , justice and honor. The appropriate photography is generously laden with views of of palaces and castles as well as paronamic vistas .The action is well paced with adequate interpretation, though the story occassionaly drags for an uneven script by Dove Sussman . It is full of good values as bravery, knighthood, honour , comradeship , sacrifice and redemption . Cast and support cast is frankly fine , such as Owen , Freeman , Aksel Hennie , Ayelet Zurer as faithfull wife , Ihara as an upright knight and Cliff Curtis as btave lieutenant .



Ii contains a colorful and evocative photography shot in Czech Republic , though sometimes dark cinematography by the great Spanish cameraman Antonio Riestra who has photographed nice films as Mama , The bachelors , Katmandu , Lidice , Black bread, Stephanie , Eloise ,and The face of love . Rousing and thrilling musical score accompanying perfectly to action from Ramgotra and Martin Tillman.The motion picture turns out to be a British/South Korea coproduction well directed by Kazuaki Kiriya who has made a few movies as Goeman and Cassehern

This is the seventh cinematic adaptation of the 47 Ronin incident after 47 Ronin 1942by Kengi Migozuchi this is the largest version of the kabuki rendition of the story by Seika Mayama ; The loyal 47 Ronin 58 , Chushingura 62 , Ako jo danzetsu , 47 Ronin 84 , Saigo no Chushingira 2010 and the most popular retelling is 47 Ronin 2013 by Carl Rinsch with Keanu Reeves , Hiroyuki Sanada , Tanaka , Rinko Kikuchi , Cary Tagawa.And is really influenced in the Film " Ronin" 1998 by John Frankenheimer with Robert DeNiro , Sean Bean, Stellan Skarsgard , Jonathan Pryce .

It's odd that a medieval fantasy movie with respectable cast nearly flies off radar. Last Knights is not an epic tale, in fact the plot heavily resembles that of 47 Ronin and considering even Keanu Reeves' journey is inspired by multitude of per-existing works, this plot is unoriginal at best. The pacing is slow, creating a rather bloated runtime. Still, the cast as well as cinematography produce nice atmosphere, especially in latter half, just making Last Knights a moderately enjoyable popcorn flick.

Raiden (Clive Owen) is a commander with a dark past, he was taken by his lord Bartok (Morgan Freeman) and granted opportunity to lead the knights. As a man of integrity Bartok openly opposes Minister Gezza Mott (Aksel Hennie), this doesn't end up well for him as he loses his land and riches, amongst other things. Thus the tale of coping and possible vengeance begins. The premise is far too predictable, more so if you have watched 47 Ronin, the screenplay almost mirrors one another.

Clive Owen has the rugged commander look, but he doesn't seem engaging. I can't help but seeing the solemn Keanu Reeves' persona as neither of them barely exhibits any meaningful expression. Morgan Freeman is as dependable as ever, he's charismatic and does pretty much what one expected. As for the villain, Aksel Hennie performs admirably. He does seem corrupt, conniving and slightly paranoid. The script gives him ominous vibe that audience would love to hate.

Supporting cast is oriented towards the mix of European and Asian, props for the casting department to pull off the eclectic assemble. They also have some experience in action movies and TV shows overall, so it's not all obscure faces. The setting puts emphasis on hybrid culture, architectures and costumes appear to be from ancient Persia with an oriental touch. It's a quaint atmosphere and presents a few lavish set pieces. Cinematography uses grayish filter for most of these areas and outfits, in exception of certain characters or definitive environment which are more vibrant.

While it looks presentable, the plot may deter some audiences. Its script tries to engage with intriguing lines, and it's mildly successful. Unfortunately, the film spends more than half of its runtime stuttering to find its rhythm. This is made worse by the outdated screenplay, the plot devices are not only foreseeable, they are also heavy-handed in execution.

The last act fares better as it offers more polished action sequences, although there is no surprise twist to be had here. Last Knights is made from tired elements of the genres, it doesn't do enough for a fascinating spectacle. However, with a presentable graphic and production design, it's barely sufficient for a light watch.

Raiden (Clive Owen) must find a way to avenge the death of Bartok (Morgan Freeman) his master who was sentenced to death for challenging the Emperor's (Peyman Moaadi) Minister, Gezze Mott (Aksel Hennie). The reasoning is that a challenge to the Minister is also a challenge to the Emperor and must be dealt with by death. Bartok did have the opportunity to kill Gezze Mott and regretted not doing so. The Emperor rules that Raiden must carry out Bartok's death sentence. Well, this wasn't in the cards. (it was in the script, however)

It was never clear to me what country is involved in this. Who has Emperors? Japan, China, France? Hmmm…… I suppose it really doesn't matter as this is not a true story. It does, however, have elements of another movie: 47 Ronin (a good movie BTW).

This has inklings of being an epic, the cinematography was outstanding; the acting: excellent; the music signaled it being so; the fights: bloody, brutal and intense; the scene setups were masterful. You almost believed this was a true story. Kudos. (you're too easy)

The key to this movie is in the words above " Raiden must find a way to avenge the death of Bartok." Keep that in mind and you almost know how this will play out.

I was impressed with the actor who played the Emperor: Peyman Moaadi, who gave a very strong performance even though his screen time wasn't all that much.

Some of the fighting near the end, while good, was always in the dark, blurry, too fast and hard to follow who were the good guys vs the bad guys. (the bad guys wore black helmets)

All in all a well told story with Morgan Freeman and Clive Owen carrying the load in good fashion. (7/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.

Usually my tastes align pretty much with the score than MetaCritic (and RottenTomatoes) gives for a particular movie. This is one of the few exceptions to that rule. I disclaimer: I am Japanese and live in Japan, and have a sweet tooth for old school Japanese dramas (not just the masters like Kurosawa and Juzo Itami) and styles that some people might not have the taste for. Note that in Japan this movie is getting good reviews -- but that's probably due to the Japanese director and the Japanese actors in it. However, there is a lot of Korean influence (according to the credits) in it as well.

If I was to pick anything wrong with the movie, the second act, which builds up the twist to the third act and the obvious final battle, was a little too obvious to me, and those familiar with this type of drama, even Clint Eastwood's old masterpiece, "Unforgiven", will probably recognize the device right away.

The combat scenes were very well done and while choreographed, there was a minimal of "you must suspend your disbelief" type Matrix-like line-and-wire acrobatics (there was some though).

Finally, the movie doesn't wimp out with a Hollywood style "Happy Ending." I'm not going to tell you if it's a good ending or not... I'm just saying that they didn't choose the ending that would have marketers would have preferred. Good for them.