| Overall Grade: |
C+ |
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| Story: |
C |
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| Acting: |
B |
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| Direction: |
C |
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| Visuals: |
C |
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Whitaker's Very Good, But...
by Jersey Joe (movies profile)
Feb 27, 2008
12
of
13 people found this review helpful
I know this film is based on real events. I know Idi Amin was a brutal dictator who was a bit of a character. I just don't know how it didn't translate into a better film.
The film is the story of a young Scottish doctor (James McEvoy) who decides to work for the Red Cross rather than stay in Scotland with his stuffy family. He is the main character and that is the big problem with the film. He is not very interesting.
To me the film falls into the Batman trap. In Batman, Batman is boring and the villain, the Joker, is much more entertaining and so overpowers the lead in every scene they share that the audience tends to wish the main character were not in the film so much. Such is the fate of this film.
To make matters worse, the young doctor does some incredibly stupid things given that he is dealing with narcissitic and violent dictator. Perhaps his dumbest move is getting one of Amin's wives pregnant even after Amin has proven that he was more than happy to provide the doctor with concubines.
In the end, I was not hoping the "hero" would be able to get out of Uganda alive as much as I was surprised he lasted as long as he did.
I would be remiss if I did not mention Forrest Whitaker's great performance as Idi Amin. It was not as brilliant as I was lead to believe, but it was exceptional. He captures the likability of Amin while conveying the madness just below the surface.
I recommend the film only to see Whitaker's performance. While enjoying Whitaker as Amin, you will no doubt be yelling "you dumbass" at McEvoy's character. |
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