The Last Duel

[funky]

Is there really no thread for this?

It was getting a ton of Oscar buzz earlier this year but it’s been completely tossed aside by the fickle Hollywood press now. Not without merit though because it’s not exactly Lawrence Of Arabia, but Jodie Comer might still be in with a shout of its only major nomination and she is very good in it.

Ben Affleck is also surprisingly good (though he has the most interesting role) and Adam Driver is as reliable as ever

I like Matt Damon but who takes on such a big role and doesn’t even TRY to give an English accent. Maybe he just asssumed that because he’s supposed to be French anyway it doesn’t matter. But it’s so jarring and half-arsed and out of place.

The first third (Matt Damon’s POV) is a bit of a slog but the movie does get better and I enjoyed it a lot by the end, as they start to delve into medieval politics and religion and how women, even women of privilege, were treated.

7.5, a kind 8 for the poll.

 

[Christian]

I'll go with a less generous 6 as it never quite got beyond being mildly interesting but it is solidly made crafts wise. Seeing the story from different sides didn't throw up as much nuance as I'd like and the casting was a choice: Affleck was quirky but Damon was a bust - I think it would have been improved by both being recast.

The duel itself was bone crunchingly good!

 

[Phoenix]

I enjoyed it and the duel was the highlight. I didn’t mind anyone, Damon as a stick in the mud was quite good imo.

 

[funky]

Yeah I’d go so far as to now say that Damon was definitely miscast and the movie would have been so much better with a gritty Brit or European actor in the role. He wasn’t THAT bad (even though the accent was), it was just not the right role for him and it dragged the movie down. The rest if the cast were all trying to create something authentic and he was just a Hollywood actor in a costume. M

I did really really like the story though.

 

[VoR]

Watching this now - is Ben Affleck playing BORIS JOHNSON?

 

[COB]

It's no good watching it NOW, you millennials are the reason it was a box office bomb according to Sir Ridley

 

[Ellie]

It's no good watching it NOW, you millennials are the reason it was a box office bomb according to Sir Ridley

Well I saw it in the 6 day window of release at Uk cinemas. Give me a medal!

 

[VoR]

Ended up watching this in two parts, just because it was so long and I started quite late. The episodic nature made that quite easy though.

Anyway LOVED this! So much better than House of Gucci, sorry to bang on but it truly is absurd that THAT is going to be the Ridley Scott film that racks up Oscar nominations this year.

All the performances were great, Comer the predictable standout. She's fairly backgrounded for the first 90 minutes but REALLY comes into her own in the last chapter. I also loved Ben Affleck's aforementioned medieval Boris Johnson turn. Random but lots of fun!

My heart was in my mouth during the final duel. It being historical I genuinely could have seen it going either way, and despite Damon's character hardly being any better than Driver, I was rooting for him so hard for Lady Margueritte's sake.

Great stuff, highly recommend, (It's on Disney+ now)

 

[VoR]

I didn't actually mind Matt Damon, casting wise. The accent was a bit ropey/non-existent, but on the whole I thought he played the part well, and I enjoyed the nuances between his own self-perception in the first chapter and the far less flattering version he played in Driver and Comer's narratives.