Last Knights

Starring: Clive Owen, Morgan Freeman, Cliff Curtis, Ayelet Zurer, Aksel Hennie, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Sung-kee Ahn, Peyman Moaadi, Si-Yeon Park
Directed by: Kazuaki Kiriya
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Adventure
2015

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A warrior (Clive Owen) must rally his troops after his master is dishonored by a corrupt politician.

Review:

Tim: Last Knights is a movie that had a limited theatrical release internationally, wasn't released in the United States (to my knowledge), and instead went straight to video on demand. All that means there wasn't much faith in this film. From the awful, generic title to the lack of budget that hampers the movie, this is certainly a small, middling affair. That being said, the movie had more than I expected. While still not good, it certainly represents the better half of films that don't get a theatrical release. This is a decent movie, but you need to lower your expectations before watching.

What saves this movie from a much worse fate is the surprisingly strong cast. Morgan Freeman is always fun to watch on screen. It absolutely felt like he was slumming it a bit with this small role, but his presence makes the movie more watchable and more fun. I enjoyed seeing him in this role, even if the whole film was so clearly beneath him. The same can be said for Clive Owen- he has more talent than this kind of film demands. He deserves better films. Still, he is a good actor and he brings that ability to this role. He has a likable quality to him that was necessary to draw the audience in. While they only have a few scenes together, it was fun to see Freeman and Owen interact. I also liked the perennially underrated Cliff Curtis. He doesn't have a whole lot to do, but he has a few decent moments. He's a good actor and I enjoyed seeing him here. It was also fun to see Ayelet Zurer, whom I liked a lot on "Daredevil". All in all, the cast is better than it had any reason to be. That is this film's saving grace, because normally I'd hate a cheaply produced movie like this.

While the budget was obviously small, director Kazuaki Kiriya worked hard to capitalize on what he had. Every scene looks like a direct-to-video type film, but it's not as offensively cheap as you might expect. That is somewhat of a win give the constraints on the film.

The movie is an adaptation of the story of the "47 Ronin". This is both good and bad. It's good because that is a solid foundation upon which to build a story- it's a classic story and it ensures some strength in what will unfold on screen. It's also a bit of a detraction because we've seen that story numerous times on screen already. I would have preferred an original, unique story. However, this film chose the safer and more well-trod path. That probably helps prevent it from becoming a train wreck, although it also holds it back. The story did have a few nice twists and turns. Some of them are obvious before they come, but at least the film tried to do something.

Last Knights is a generic film that won't really inspire anyone. However, it's better than you might expect. It's mildly entertaining, at least. I wouldn't go so far as to recommend this film, but you can do worse, for sure.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: 47 Ronin