The Last King is a film based on a true story about a Nordic prince born in a small village in secret. After some bad stuff happens (as is prone with royal families in feudal times and territories…), the heir needs to be protected at all costs to ensure the survival of the royal bloodline and all that.
Tormund aka Kristofer Hivju (but we’ll just call him Tormund) plays Torstein. I’m not sure if he has a construct that states that he must always play a character with a prefix containing “Tor” but hey, here we are. Tormund is in this basically doing his wildling Game of Thrones thing in the wildling wilderness but instead of being North of the Wall, he’s just in Norway. It’s basically the same thing. He plays one of the dudes protecting the baby dude heir.
The film starts out with a village being burnt to the ground and a bunch of villagers being murdered. Then Vikings come in on mother flippin’ SKIS like the opening sequence to Die Another Day (ok it wasn’t really like that) and whisk the king’s baby mama off on an extra set of skis they just happen to have. While also holding a baby. You know, the good ol’ days when ladies could ski and take care of their babies at the same time?
I was very tired when I watched this movie so my apologies for this review somehow being even loopier than normal for me.
The Nordic scenery in the film is spectacular and one of the overall highlights. In between big screens, there are incredible landscape shots that make you want to get on an airplane and head to Norway right away. Or get on an airplane there for their summer since the winter looks hella cold and miserable.
I don’t mind subtitles at all but I know some people aren’t into that at all so if you’re one of those people, fair warning: THAR BE SUBTITLES ALL UP IN THIS VIKING BUSINESS. But if you’re like me, carry on.
The film tells an interesting story but one that’s been told in varying forms before. Not this exactly but again… some royal is betrayed, a fight for the throne follows, and then there’s a battle to protect the rightful heir with people rallying to the sides of the person they feel is the true leader. Blah blah. The difference between this and Game of Thrones is that it’s based on a true story. Or true-ish. It was a long time ago. But yeah, this film covers one of the many treacheries that happened to those on the throne way back in the day.
The special features included on Blu-ray are:
- Interview with Actor Kristofer Hivju
- The Last King Music Video: Bifrost
- Theatrical Trailer
Admittedly the special features aren’t anything to write home about but I’ve seen less features on bigger titles so at least there’s something.
Verdict:
Check it out! It wasn’t an action-packed flick that kept me on the edge of my seat but I enjoyed the history and the scenery and the Tormund. Oh, and the Vikings on skis.
It only took me an eternity to watch but I DID IT. Thank you Magnet for sending me the film to watch.
