Review of The Last Duel (2021) by Unclewillard — 07 Dec 2021

I was expecting a by the numbers medieval action flick, expertly done by a master in his prime (I'm a sucker for Ridley Scott most of the time), but I was pleasantly surprised by this new take on Roshomon. I love how there is no one answer, but rather you are required to paint the picture in your own mind, given some pretty set clues. Each version has some absolutely solid truths they all agree upon, and some subtle, and not so subtle, differences based on who's telling it. I loved that in both pics and Scott pays appropriate homage to the Kurosawa's masterpiece.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and everyone in it. My only minor complaint is the bit of wokeness around Jodie Comer's version, which leaned heavily into the narrative that women had little power in the 14th century...der. I think that's well-trod ground, and at the end of the day, she didn't have to fight a dude who had seen a **** ton of combat like her husband did. Sure, the actual action doesn't take place until the third act, but even with its brevity, the duel itself is a great piece of action cinema a la Scott and a well-earned payoff. Everyone in this did a great job.

This also led me to another one of Eric Jager's other books, Royal Blood which could be a great flick too.