Last Knights

In an unnamed empire, a lord is being killed for political reasons and the greed of a competitor, his private army disbanded, his lands divided among the other nobles. A year later, his retainers, all loyal followers of the code of the warrior, take revenge.

This is actually a real and very famous and influential event that happened in Japan in the 18th century, also known as the Ako incident. I found it funny that the ending of the movie was changed to suit Western sensibilities, but the gist of the film is the same nonetheless.

The acting was good, with a real nice cast, the directing was good and the entire feel of the movie, from cinematography to costumes, helped get me in the atmosphere of the story. I felt the music was a bit too bombastic for the scenes, but it was also nice.

Bottom line: a UK and South Korea coproduction, it feels different than an American movie, and in a very good way, but it is not an exceptional film. Perhaps its greatest merit is the acting and the rather faithful depiction of the incident. The ending ruins that a bit, but not by much.

After reading the initial reviews of this movie I thought it might be a bit of a turkey. However, I like these type of movies so I thought I would give it 15-20 minutes and see how it goes. Happily, it went well, I was hooked on the storyline and the acting. Clive Owen was fantastic as he usually is in these type of roles, Morgan Freeman, again one of his better movies, and the supporting cast all very well acted. The CGI was good but plot and acting outshone it, which is a really good thing in my opinion. Anyway, I really do recommend this film to those people who like this genre. So please do not listen to the negative reviews to much, watch it for 15 minutes and then decide for yourself if it's for you.

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.

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 .

I just watched this film and, honestly, I find the single review posted here to be wholly ludicrous - one star indeed.

There's a sizable group of talented actors and actresses in this film that give some very respectable performances. If fighting scenes are all you look for in a film like this then yes, it might feel boring to you. But for most others you'll find a well executed story that portrays honor in a time when honor was everything.

Production was accurate, continuity is good, and the story keeps you interested. It's not, by any means, a fresh story line - but there's a reason it's an old standard. Casting was well done, and Clive Owen, as always, does not disappoint. In fact, the entire cast did a commendable job and that can not be said for the majority of contemporary films.

So, to wrap up; if you're strictly an "action" viewer, you may not enjoy this movie. But if you enjoy a good story that isn't entirely predictable, you might just enjoy this film.