What a beautiful movie!

Fantastic!

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

And not in an enjoyable way. As far as creative license goes, this tries to take the cake, eat some of it, but still have it too. Apart from hilarious scenes of skiing that were more pointless than the olympics in this day and age, the abysmal dubbing was hard to watch, as was the poor voice acting. Although there was a great budget for the look of this film, that is to say the way it was shot, vast mountain tops, landscapes etc, that must have been where most of the money went, because it shows little in the rest of the film. Unwatchable unless one is already drunk, like the northern brigands these movies try to sensationalize.

THE LAST KING is a serviceable action adventure film from Norway with a medieval setting. The feel of it is similar to GAME OF THRONES and VIKINGS, featuring a mix of action scenes and court intrigue, and it's fair to say that the former scenes work much better than the latter. The court intrigue stuff is a bit boring and predictable if I'm honest, but the action on the snowy mountain slopes is good fun.This film has strong production values and excellent cinematography which brings the icy locales to life. The costumes are all fine, and the performances are as authentic as you'd expect from a Norwegian production. I thought that Kristofer Hivju was particularly good but that may just be because I'm a fan of him in GAMES OF THRONES. Thorbjorn Harr, from VIKINGS, also appears. There's also a bad guy who looks like Klaus Kinski and is just as imposing.THE LAST KING makes novel use of skiing as part of the action which makes this feel like a medieval Bond film at times. The action scenes are generally quick and authentic, with only the odd bit of slow motion threatening to spoil things. The best parts of the film are those with the 'two men and a baby' theme. While it's never quite as gripping or as involving as I hoped, this is still a perfectly watchable story.

With the shops finally all back to normal,I went to look at the local DVD shop. Along with a sealed Dad's Army remake,(which I sold for a good amount!) I was intrigued to find a Historical Action title starring Game of Thrones Kristofer Hivju,which led to me getting set to meet the last king.The plot-12th century Norway:Wanting to take the kingdom,the church arranges for the king to be killed. Aware that the king has an illegitimate baby,the church decides the lie to the kingdom,and claim that the baby has died. Doubting these words, knights/Vikings Skjervald and Torstein find the baby,and sets their sights of bringing the true king back to the kingdom.View on the film:Hurling a baby along whilst protecting him from arrows, Kristofer Hivju gives a warm performance as Torstein,with the hulking physique Hivju shows in the rough & tumble action scenes being joined by a terrific protective side Hivju gives Torstein for the young king. Teaming up with Torstein to protect the boy, Jakob Oftebro gives a gripping performance as Skjervald,as the quick- witted mind of Oftebro balances the ram-bam action from Hivju's Torstein.Drawn from real events,the transfer of Ravn Lanesskog's screenplay into English keeps the geo-political workings rather vague,via the royal family betrayals lacking a clear route to the full motive behind them.Going to the most remote parts of Norway to protect the king, Lanesskog lets the dry historical edges fall,for a thrilling men on a mission adventure,which Lanesskog fine chops between hard-hitting battle scenes and light comedic tenderness in the care the duo show to the king. Striking steel against the beautiful Norwegian mountains,director Nils Gaup and cinematographer Peter Mokrosinski give the title an exciting atmosphere, pounded with shots of blood and Norse axes (for Odin!) flying in the air,and Gaup gliding the camera across snow-covered hills and tense ski chases,as Skjervald and Torstein keep their eyes on the last king.

I just recently watched an adaptation of a Jussi Adler-Olsen novel and some of the actors involved in that are in this one too. Funny to see them in such different roles in short amount of time. But it works and goes to show you that there are good actors all over the world (something that cannot be stressed enough, which is why I personally do watch as many and different movies as possible).But I'm probably preaching to the choir here. It's obvious that you're at least showing some interest already. And if you like movies with Vikings and stories where good and bad collide and all that juicy stuff, with some nice fighting choreography as well, than look no further. You've found what you're looking for. It may seem a bit confused at times, but it does have a clear goal in the end ... and it's really well made