While I am always up for a new Ridley Scott feature, his hit rate has not been as strong in the past 10 years compared to the rest of his directing career.
The only exceptions in my opinion being The Martian and All The Money In The World.
That still gives me hope that Scott still has another hot streak in him and seeing who was involved in his latest project as well as the type of story had me somewhat excited for it.
From the opening scene, I could feel real scale to this production as well as the stakes involved. So I was already in for the ride.
The choice of story structure surprised me, as it went down a Rashomon/Vantage Point style of story-telling. I don't think it will be for everyone. But I felt there was enough clever subtle differences in each part including different camera angles, that tells you a lot about the character that we're seeing their view of the story from. But other viewers may find a bit boring.
Once you discover more information and the notice the differences in each part, the tension slowly builds-up, gradually boils overs and comes to a head during a brilliant pay-off.
The ending is expertly directed and acted and it gave me the high I needed. So whether the build-up and pacing is for you or not, it is worth it for tense and dramatic ending.
The cast were great both as an ensemble, and as individuals. Matt Damon is as intense as you want his character to be and the loyalty his character had made him very engaging for me. Adam Driver for me was the standout. From his dashing good looks that fit in with the period, to his engaging development that goes down many directions as the film goes on.
Ben Affleck was a big surprise for me, as he casting as well as his look felt out of place to me at first. But once I got used to his appearance and got to know his character more, I really enjoyed his performance.
Jodie Comer continues to excel in her transition from TV to film with a strong authentic performance. Her chemistry with Damon and Driver worked really well and gave us another well developed character to get invested with.
These four gave us a wonderful ensemble and enhanced the dialogue they were given to give such memorable characters.
The production is fantastic. The locations are well utilised. The cinematography wonderful shows the scale of this story. The action scenes were great and shows us that Scott can still shoot terrific action. It actually reminded me of fellow medieval drama and recent Netflix original Outlaw/King which hasn't got the love it deserves.
If I was being nit-picky, the pacing is slow at times and the duration is probably a bit too long. So it may test some people's patience. But like me, it may suck you in even more.
This was a really enjoyable watch full of betrayal, love, hate and done in that wonderful late medieval period way that makes it great for cinema. As mentioned before, the production is impressive, the performances are so good that pay-off gives you a real rush of adrenaline. Ridley Scott is still delivering, even being in the game for 45 years. When will he stop? After seeing The Last Duel, who cares.
Rating: 8/10
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