The Last Duel - Review

The Last Duel is one of the best movies of 2021 in my book. The rough box office, and Ridley Scott's attitude towards younger audiences, really hurt this film in main stream culture. How does a movie with these people involved (Written by Nicole Holofcener with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck who also star in it with Adam Driver and Jodie Comer.) not get nominated for major oscars but Being the Ricardos and Dont Look Up do?

The narrative structure isn't anything new, it takes a lot from Rashomon (1950) by Akira Kurosawa but the structure is rarely used. Scott's skills as a director and the performances really shine through in how each story is portrayed. You feel the differences between each perspective even if you aren't looking for it all that hard.

The battles are incredibly well shot, as you'd expect from Ridley Scott, but I've been finding action in not action movies pretty dull and flat. The Last Duel is not an action movie but it respects the art of action on film enough to stage and plan out choreograph that doesn't need quick cuts to be intense.

I'm not all that shocked by the oscars excluding the Last Duel. Few people were talking about the movie and its not a movies thats going to swing the oscars narrative like a No Way Home nomination would.

Its long, harsh, and slow at times but trust this recommendation, its a great movie that deserves eyes on it. If you're in Canada its on Disney+.