The Last Duel (Movies Anywhere 4K Stream)

[David Vaughn]

Studio: 20^th Century Fox
Release Date: December 14, 2021
Rating: R
Film: 2.5/5

Plot
Jodie Comer is spellbinding in this tale of betrayal and vengeance set in 14th century France from visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott. Based on actual events, the film stars Matt Damon and Adam Driver as friends Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris, two knights who must fight to the death after de Carrouges’s wife (Comer) accuses Le Gris of assault.

My Thoughts
Unfortunately, with the studio’s change in policy, I didn’t receive the 4K UHD Blu-ray of this film for review and instead watched it via Movies Anywhere in 4K with Atmos audio. This was a film that I was very interested in buying and the good news is that now that I’ve watched it, I’ll save myself the $25 because it’s not something I’ll ever watch again.

My biggest of many gripes is the pacing, which is poisonously slow. Next in line is the casting. While Driver and Damon are fine as the male leads, the casting of Ben Affleck (with bleach blonde hair and eyebrows) is a complete miss. To say he’s horrible in the role would be giving him too much credit. Finally, the way the story unfolds repeats too many scenes—you see the film from multiple points of view. Frankly, when it finally ended it was a relief and I honestly didn’t care about who lived or died.


Video 3/5

Audio 3/5




Conclusion
These types of films I generally like, but for whatever reason, I just couldn’t get into this one. I should say that my wife didn’t care for it at all and complained most of the way through the film, which maybe took me out of the mood. Regardless, I’m not sure it’s something I’ll ever revisit because it’s a pretty depressing story. For this reason, I’m not sure if I’d purchase it sight unseen and you may want to stream/rent it first before adding it to your collection.

Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS2000 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
(Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 88” 16x9 Fixed Screen
Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
System Controller: URC MX-990
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
SVS PC-Ultra Cylinder Subwoofer
HSU VTF-15H MK2 Subwoofer
JL Audio Dominion F110 Subwoofer x 2
Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner

[DLCPhoto]

Interesting. This is one I was looking forward to - very strong Rotten Tomato scores, and I'm a big Jodie Comer fan after Killing Eve. If you rewatch and have a change of opinion, please let us know.

[bmoney]

I completely agree. The thre versions were so close together. We watched the same movie three times. And with the subject matter it was not easy to watch 3 times. 

I thought matt Damon was terrible. 

[David Vaughn]

I completely agree. The thre versions were so close together. We watched the same movie three times. And with the subject matter it was not easy to watch 3 times.

I thought matt Damon was terrible.

it didn't fit the type of role he usually plays, which may be why you hated him so much. He played a brooding (and unlikable) character, so I don't fault him personally for that. The female lead was OK, but I don't think the character itself was all that interesting. As you state, you end up watching the movie 3 times and it wears out its welcome, that's for sure. 

[bmoney]

I just think he’s really bad at playing that type of roll. Same thing in the Great Wall. He’s really bad at that medieval accent 

I don’t think he’s a great actor anyhow aside from good will hunting he was outstanding  

[David Vaughn]

He was great in Bourne series, The Martian, GWH, and some others, but his range as an actor is limited. I avoided The Great Wall (and it looks to be a good decision . 

[bmoney]

He was good in those yes. I wouldn’t consider him a great actor though. 

[DLCPhoto]

He was great in Bourne series, The Martian, GWH, and some others, but his range as an actor is limited. I avoided The Great Wall (and it looks to be a good decision .

Regardless of its merits as a movie, The Great Wall in 4k/HDR has some pretty spectacular scenes - great eye candy for demo purposes!

[Ralph P.]

Greetings,

I liked this film. I thought the multiple perspectives worked because each didn't rehash the other but, provided details not seen given the same circumstances. I disagree that Jodie Comer's character/performance had little impact. 

I would agree that this isn't necessarily a film that you would reach for on a regular basis but, I definitely found it to be well executed and effectively compelling.

Thanks for the review Dave..


Regards,

[David Vaughn]

Greetings,

I liked this film. I thought the multiple perspectives worked because each didn't rehash the other but, provided details not seen given the same circumstances. I disagree that Jodie Comer's character/performance had little impact.

I would agree that this isn't necessarily a film that you would reach for on a regular basis but, I definitely found it to be well executed and effectively compelling.

Thanks for the review Dave..


Regards,

Thanks Ralph. Having Lori complaining for nearly 2 hours probably had a negative impact on my enjoyment

[Paul Heroy]

Have any of you who've seen TLD, seen Kurosawa's classic Rashomon? The comparison should be inevitable but it sounds like this new film didn't show as much difference among the viewpoints to shed light on how skewed certain parts of the story were seen by different people with very different results.

[bmoney]

The differences were so minor it’s not even funny. The more I think back on the movie the more I dislike it lol. Def will never watch it again