The Last King of Scotland 2006

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Through its very specific story, the movie illustrates how absolute power can corrupt those who wield it, resulting in a man who, once ensconced as a nation's leader, uses all his available resources to ensure his own survival. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Macdonald has delivered a masterful tragedy, told in his characters' wary eyes. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Whitaker doesn't so much play the Ugandan president and charismatic monster, deposed in 1979 and responsible for an estimated 300,000 deaths, as he lights a slow fuse on a highly complex bomb. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: This is not hyperbole. This is how good Whitaker is: He actually makes you feel sorry for Idi Amin. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: The film is phenomenally well directed by Kevin Macdonald and edited by Justine Wright to bring out every bit of scary volatility in the most casual interactions. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: A thunderous performance by Forest Whitaker as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin informs and ignites The Last King of Scotland so far beyond its limitations as both a biopic and a political thriller that he becomes the movie itself. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: Mr. Whitaker and Mr. McAvoy head a first-rate cast that helps The Last King of Scotland to illuminate one of the many dark chapters in recent African history. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: The film as a whole measures up to Forest Whitaker's performance. That's high praise indeed. Read more

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle: At its heart of darkness, the film is about the lure of power. It's a condemnation of all the dictators' men over all time. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: Forest Whitaker has been one of our most interesting actors for 20 years, and he gives the performance of a lifetime in The Last King of Scotland. Read more

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: This is the sort of movie worth seeing for the performances alone. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: There must come a reckoning, and in The Last King Of Scotland, the loss of innocence consumes the whole final hour, during which time Whitaker appears less often, his screen time stolen by an increasingly weepy McAvoy. Read more

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic: Rare is the actor who can accomplish an instant transformation from beast to buddy, but Whitaker makes it look easy. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Read more

Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times: [Director Kevin Macdonald] captures the energy and exuberance of a young nation in the throes of optimism and works it into a foreboding frenzy. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Forest Whitaker gives a titanic performance as the general ... and as he seduces the naive young man into his murderous regime, director Kevin Macdonald unpacks the ignorance and arrogance that still characterize the West's attitude toward Africa. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: See the movie for Whitaker alone: He's possessed by evil and possesses it wholly, rendering the film (and everyone in it) his plaything. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Whitaker's performance dispels most of one's objections. He is terrifying in a way that we recognize not from old movies but from life. Read more

Michael Booth, Denver Post: By the end of this remarkable, uneven film, we believe that through Whitaker we have come to understand the very nature of power and corruption. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: I can't think of a better actor to toggle between media-savvy jester and stone-cold killer than Forest Whitaker, who, even dressed in a kilt, conveys serious menace along with mania. Read more

Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press: A good movie elevated by Whitaker's pitch-perfect performance. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: A shrewd commentary on misguided Western excursions into the 'dark continent.' Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: The colonialist spirit is alive and well in The Last King of Scotland, a return to the pandering celluloid depictions of African turmoil that insist on putting a white face on black suffering. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The movie's real power, and true greatness, comes from Whitaker. Whether or not it's forgotten at awards season, it's guaranteed to be remembered for a long time to come. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR.org: Read more

Jack Mathews, New York Daily News: Whitaker's performance is absolutely spellbinding -- and should land him his first Oscar nomination. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: If this genius turn by Whitaker (he starred in Bird and The Crying Game) doesn't earn an Oscar nomination, then those little statues will lose what little meaning they have. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The Last King of Scotland isn't for everyone, but for those who can stomach its brutality, it offers a compelling look into how such a popular leader became known as one of Africa's most vicious dictators of the 1970s. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: Forest Whitaker shatters abstraction and replaces it with flesh, blood and unspeakable charm. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: The Last King of Scotland is wrenching to sit through, but in the end, it doesn't leave you with quite enough to think about. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Bill Zwecker, Chicago Sun-Times: This is director Kevin MacDonald's first feature film, yet along with cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, he has produced a motion picture that will become an instant political classic. Read more

Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail: A compelling, though somewhat problematic, story set deep inside Idi Amin's brutal dictatorship in Uganda. Read more

Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star: As Amin, the actor holds every scene he's in with a kind of explosive gravity. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: Whitaker's dedicated, nuanced performance is excellent and lifts the film from some unsteady early moments. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: Having cut his teeth on documentaries, Kevin Macdonald acts as if a shaky-cam aesthetic alone is enough to fuel dramatic tension. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Whitaker is formidably compelling as a man whose quixotic temperament and larger-than-life persona both fascinate and repel. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: Starts well, but trips over preposterous plot developments as it pushes toward its climax. Read more

Ella Taylor, Village Voice: An adequate thriller redeemed by Forest Whitaker's sensational turn as Idi Amin. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: The movie uses a fictional device to get up close and personal, but I'm not sure the fictional device works. Read more