The Last Duel

Firstly Ridley Scott's talent as a director is undeniable. And it is for the most part well displayed in "The Last Duel." Secondly I was pleasantly surprised at Matt Damon's acting chops in the film. I consider Damon a yeoman talent. Certainly not top top tier actor, but a very good one, and he does very vey well in the film. I did not think Adam Driver, who has a stunning range in his career did well in this part. Jodie Comer, after you have seen her in a few roles seems to be repetitive and I was not impressed with her portrayal of her role in Duel. But my main impression is that aside from a number of really dramatic action sequences, the narrative inappropriately tries to impose modern mores. This just doesn't work. It is a jarring anachronism given this is set in late medieval, pre-Enlightenment times. Similar to the problem in the narrative in "Kingdom of Heaven" were historians critiqued the narrative element of having the lead characters on both sides displaying modern and thus utterly artificial views of tolerance that were manifestly not present in anyone at the time the piece was set. With Dual and Kingdom one gets the feeling of a fourth wall-like didactic lecture to audience. Lastly to those who say noting the similarity with Rashomon is wrong, OI can only say you havent seen Rashomon. The Last Duel has been called " "Rashomon crossed with #MeToo" and "Ridly Scott's Rashomon." I saw this Athens Film Festival while in Greece on business. 6/10.

It's beautifully filmed. It's an intriguing story, but it's not a good film. Scott proves once again that he can't pick a script to save his life. Don't know what else to say. It was boring and not in a good way.

Too long. The storytelling is bland. This is no Titanic. Comic book duel scene. Stupid sound effects during battles. A mess. Here are some more words to make IMDB happy. It really doesn't need an overlong review as well.