Blu-ray Movie Reviews

This is Amin's incredible story as seen through the eyes of Nicholas Garrigan, a young Scotsman who becomes the volatile leader's personal physician, due in part to Amin's unexpected passion for Scottish culture - Amin even proclaims himself "The Last King Of Scotland". Seduced by Amin's charisma and blinded by decadence, Garrigan's dream life becomes a waking nightmare of betrayal and madness from which there is no escape. Inspired by real people and events, this gripping, suspenseful stunner is filled with performances you will never forget.

I’ve been wanting to see this movie for quite sometime and I’m thrilled that Fox saw fit to finally release it in Blu-ray. This was a story I was unfamiliar with going in and, like most news coming out of Africa, seems to be a story that never made it to our shores despite the rather horrible circumstances for the people of Uganda. Whitaker delivers a sensational performance as the almost bipolar president who proclaims a better life and country for his people and systematically kills off nearly all opposing citizens. McAvoy plays a newly minted doctor from Scotland who goes there on a whim and becomes the chief physician for the new president after a chance encounter. From there he becomes blinded by the president’s zeal and is sucked into the downward spiral of events that follow. The film does a brilliant job with the material and the performances are outstanding, but this does become a hard film to watch near the end with its brutal look at the events that unfolded.

This is a pretty good looking Blu-ray presentation. The production design and photography have a wandering quality that makes for a rather inconsistent video presentation. At times fine detail and depth are quite good, especially in close ups, but other instances are heavy in grain and lack the focus of tighter shots. Contrast and color are strong though and it is hard to fault the intentions of the DP. The soundtrack is quite effective with great use of ambiance and the film’s score to draw you in. Dynamics are strong with some subtle low bass cues here and there.

Extras include a collection of deleted scenes and a few behind the scenes features that delve into the production and story behind the film. You also get a Fox Move Channel casting special and some trailers.

While disturbing in some of its themes and visuals, The Last King of Scotland is still a powerful film with incredible performances by its leads. The presentation is good, though not quite reference material, but I don’t know if I would call this one to own.