SPOILER ALERT FOR THIS REVIEW: This is a movie about Ugandan dictator Idi Amin (played by Forest Whitaker) who finds a Scottish health physician named Nicholas that he made his personal physician (played my James McAvoy). Nicholas however, has no idea what he got himself into, as dictator Idi Amin gets progressively more out of his mind. It is a great plot that mixes fiction and real life.
The acting in this movie is incredibly believable. Impeccable. Whitaker's performance really stood out for me, I have not seen many of his movies but I don't think that a crazy dude is his typical character. And he did it really well. McAvoy's performance was also phenomenal, but for me Whitaker's performance stood out a little more. Everyone in the movie played perfectly however. And I have no complaints for the acting at all.
As for the cinematography, that is where this movie suffers a little. It is not mind-bogglingly awful, but it suffers. The visuals are fine. No shaky cam, no terrible graphics (though the graphics are not great). But the audio, is not great at all. When there is music, it tends to completely drain all dialogue, and I noticed that there are some points that are a little late....let me explain. For example, there is a part where Nicholas is seen walking down a hallway, you hear footsteps, and the actual step is half a second later. Other than that it is fine, but the few audio flaws are big flaws.
As for the entertainment, it is a very entertaining film. It is a not expected thriller, and it is very dark. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, especially towards the end. It truly is incredibly entertaining and leaves you on a high once it finishes, you have a sigh of relief that it is finished in a good way. It is a terrifying movie that is not a horror.
As for emotional impact, there are a few sad scenes, but it is not the main focus, at least I find. But the few emotional scenes there are, are very emotional. For an example, and unfortunately it is a spoiler, when Nicholas sees Kay, it is heartbreaking. It is sad to see Nicholas try so hard to do something and just immediately fail. There are a few sad scenes, not many, but the ones there are, are indeed sad. Which is why emotional impact gets a high rating from me.
The realism, I would give it a much higher realism level if it did not class itself as a total biopic. Because Nicholas, is a very fictional character. Yes, Idi Amin had a physician, but he was Ugandan, and did not survive, in fact in real life he committed suicide when he saw Kay. But it does very realistically depict Amin's dictatorship. He was insane. And this movie shows that. A lot. It is basically very accurate except almost everything involving Nicholas. But Nicholas's story is wonderful. The realism level is not low per se, but it is not perfect.
Now the ending, it is very satisfying. However it would have been nice to see a little bit of aftermath, how did Nicholas handle the trauma of what happened? But it remains a very satisfying ending. It shows pretty much everything it needed to.
In conclusion: Plot: 10/10 Acting: 10/10 Cinematography: 8.9/10 Entertainment level: 10/10 Emotional impact: 9.5/10 Realism: 9.5/10 Ending: 9.7/10 Characters: 10/10
Final rating: 97% (very close to 98 which I would round up to a 10)
The acting in this movie is incredibly believable. Impeccable. Whitaker's performance really stood out for me, I have not seen many of his movies but I don't think that a crazy dude is his typical character. And he did it really well. McAvoy's performance was also phenomenal, but for me Whitaker's performance stood out a little more. Everyone in the movie played perfectly however. And I have no complaints for the acting at all.
As for the cinematography, that is where this movie suffers a little. It is not mind-bogglingly awful, but it suffers. The visuals are fine. No shaky cam, no terrible graphics (though the graphics are not great). But the audio, is not great at all. When there is music, it tends to completely drain all dialogue, and I noticed that there are some points that are a little late....let me explain. For example, there is a part where Nicholas is seen walking down a hallway, you hear footsteps, and the actual step is half a second later. Other than that it is fine, but the few audio flaws are big flaws.
As for the entertainment, it is a very entertaining film. It is a not expected thriller, and it is very dark. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, especially towards the end. It truly is incredibly entertaining and leaves you on a high once it finishes, you have a sigh of relief that it is finished in a good way. It is a terrifying movie that is not a horror.
As for emotional impact, there are a few sad scenes, but it is not the main focus, at least I find. But the few emotional scenes there are, are very emotional. For an example, and unfortunately it is a spoiler, when Nicholas sees Kay, it is heartbreaking. It is sad to see Nicholas try so hard to do something and just immediately fail. There are a few sad scenes, not many, but the ones there are, are indeed sad. Which is why emotional impact gets a high rating from me.
The realism, I would give it a much higher realism level if it did not class itself as a total biopic. Because Nicholas, is a very fictional character. Yes, Idi Amin had a physician, but he was Ugandan, and did not survive, in fact in real life he committed suicide when he saw Kay. But it does very realistically depict Amin's dictatorship. He was insane. And this movie shows that. A lot. It is basically very accurate except almost everything involving Nicholas. But Nicholas's story is wonderful. The realism level is not low per se, but it is not perfect.
Now the ending, it is very satisfying. However it would have been nice to see a little bit of aftermath, how did Nicholas handle the trauma of what happened? But it remains a very satisfying ending. It shows pretty much everything it needed to.
In conclusion: Plot: 10/10 Acting: 10/10 Cinematography: 8.9/10 Entertainment level: 10/10 Emotional impact: 9.5/10 Realism: 9.5/10 Ending: 9.7/10 Characters: 10/10
Final rating: 97% (very close to 98 which I would round up to a 10)