movie review last knights

Film Review: ‘Last Knights’

Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman star in this cut-rate, moderately engaging medieval actioner.

By Justin Chang

Justin Chang

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About 20 minutes or so into the bizarre European/Asian/Middle Eastern fusion cuisine that is “Last Knights,” Morgan Freeman delivers a speech as only Morgan Freeman can — the sort of blazingly eloquent, morally fiery declaration of principles that usually precedes a character’s righteous victory or his agonizing defeat. Freeman exits far too soon, but his presence is enough to momentarily jog your interest in this cut-rate, off-Hollywood debut for Japanese action helmer Kaz I Kiriya, starring Clive Owen as a medieval fighter who seeks to avenge his master’s death. Rapidly tilting into so-clever-it’s-stupid territory, the story hinges on the sort of dramatic plot twist that exists mainly to delay the inevitable bloodletting for as long as possible, though when it finally arrives, the mayhem is engaging enough on its own workmanlike terms. Following a brief theatrical window, the Lionsgate release should swing and parry its way into respectable VOD play.

He may be killing it on Cinemax’s “The Knick,” but Owen has floundered of late in his search for a big-screen vehicle worthy of his talents, and “Last Knights” doesn’t exactly buck the trend. Set in an unnamed empire governed by ancient feudal traditions and utopian racial politics, the story centers on Raiden (Owen), a skilled warrior who serves as loyal manservant and wise counselor to the nobleman Bartok (Freeman). Like other lords of the realm, Bartok is invited to pay his respects to a corrupt authority figure named Gezza Mott (Norwegian actor Aksel Hennie, fey and loathsome), but refuses to cough up the expensive bribe that is expected of him — an insult that leads to a physical altercation and ultimately earns Bartok a death sentence from the all-powerful Emperor (Iranian actor Peyman Moaadi, “A Separation”).

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It’s at this point that Bartok gives his deeply stirring speech: In full view of his prosecutors, he gravely rebukes himself and his fellow colleagues for having allowed Gezza Mott to abuse his power and extort money from others. It’s a rare instance of rhetorical force in the screenplay (by Michael Konyves and Dove Sussman), and Freeman plays his martyrdom moment to the hilt. In a particularly cruel twist of the knife, it’s Raiden himself who is forced to administer the fatal beheading, cutting down a master he’s grown to love the way a son loves a father. Not long thereafter, Bartok’s house is dismantled, his family is dispersed, and his men (a motley assortment of faces including Cliff Curtis, Giorgio Caputo, Val Lauren and Michael Lombardi) are dismissed. Raiden, racked with guilt and despair, sells his precious sword — a gift from Bartok himself — and falls into a wretched yearlong spiral of boozing and whoring, driving away his faithful wife (Ayelet Zurer) in the process.

Meanwhile, Gezza Mott locks himself away in his heavily fortified compound, yells insults at his personal bodyguard (Tsuyoshi Ihara), and is unable to shake the feeling that somehow, somewhere, his misdeeds are going to come back to haunt him. (Ye think?) Since it’s a foregone conclusion that the movie will end with Raiden and his men exacting bloody revenge, there’s something simultaneously exasperating and enjoyable about the lengths to which the filmmakers go in order to throw us off the narrative scent, patiently building to a revelation (if that’s the word) that borrows not just a narrative trick but a crucial image from the climax of “The Usual Suspects.”

“Last Knights” is a fairly ludicrous mystery and a so-so action movie, but it’s nonetheless been constructed with an earnest attention to detail that shouldn’t be taken for granted. The red herrings, for all their obviousness, are lined up with meticulous care. There’s a similar deftness to the staging of the combat sequences, which proceed methodically from one obstacle to the next as our heroes storm the castle, neatly immersing us in the logistics of how to lower a drawbridge and penetrate an enemy lair while evading detection for as long as possible. In its narrative structure and its climactic action, the movie means to impress upon us the value of collaboration and perseverance, as well as the pleasure of seeing so many seemingly disparate puzzle pieces coming together as a unified whole.

Unfortunately, it’s “Last Knights” that itself never fully comes together, as Kiriya — a proficient enough craftsman whose action chops were apparent in his 2004 debut, “Casshern” — fails to bring his vision of ancient times to fully coherent life. Admirably colorblind though it may be, the international casting (which includes the welcome presence of South Korean veteran Ahn Sung-ki as Gezza Mott’s wise father-in-law) somehow manages to seem at once calculated and arbitrary; the effect is that of an old-fashioned Europudding production with slightly more exotic garnishes than usual. Owen, though watchable as ever, never gets a compelling grip on a character who barely exists in two dimensions. And while d.p. Antonio Riestra effectively captures the mood of the picture (shot in the Czech Republic) with a steel-gray palette in scenic widescreen compositions, some of the f/x work is glaringly subpar: You’ve seen winter-themed screensavers with more persuasive-looking snowfall.

Reviewed at Lionsgate screening room, Santa Monica, Calif., March 10, 2015. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 115 MIN.

• Production: A Lionsgate release of a Grindstone Entertainment Group presentation of a Luka production in association with Union Investment Partners, Timewise Investment and DMM.com. Produced by Luci Kim, Kaz I Kiriya. Executive producers, Kate Hong, Lee Jea Woo, Choi Pyung-ho, Keishi Kameyama, Hiroshi Matsumura, Kang Yeong-shin, Andrew Man, Jim Thompson, Bae Yong-kook, Russell Levine, Chip Diggins, Jay Stern, Barry Brooker, Stan Wertlieb, Nick Thurlow, Gary Hamilton. Co-producers, Kevan Van Thompson, Joyce Heeyoung Cho, Michelle Chubarov McIntosh. Co-executive producers, Ryan Black, Cha Won Chun, Samuel Yeunju Ha, Huh Soo Young.
• Crew: Directed by Kaz I Kiriya. Screenplay, Michael Konyves, Dove Sussman. Camera (color, widescreen), Antonio Riestra; editor, Mark Sanger; music, Martin Tillmann, Satnam Ramgotra; music supervisor, Andy Ross; production designer, Ricky Eyres; costume designer, Tina Kalivas; visual effects supervisor, Seong Ho Jang; second unit director, Doo Hung Jung, casting, Tricia Wood, Deborah Aquila, Jennifer Smith.
• With: Clive Owen, Cliff Curtis, Aksel Hennie, Peyman Moaadi, Ayelet Zurer, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Ahn Sung-ki, Morgan Freeman.

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Review: ‘Last Knights’ Has Sword Swinging and Cape Twirling in the Name of Revenge

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By Manohla Dargis

• April 2, 2015

“Last Knights,” a medieval-esque potboiler, features a lineup of pedigreed jaw-clenchers who can swing swords without letting their paychecks show too much. Among the nimblest is Clive Owen, who makes fast and furious with a sword in between uttering lines like “I’m Commander Raiden of the Seventh Rank” and “I follow you, my lord.” That would be his liege and ours, Morgan Freeman, whose job here is to gild the mold, as in: “During the long, dark period of the great wars, an elite class of soldier rose from battle. Their unbreakable code was simple.”

The code is as simplistic as announced and mostly involves men, honor, vengeance, cool-looking fights and the fantasy of the good death, the kind that ends with blood garnishing a scene rather than curdling the mood. The movie’s lineage can be traced to perennial favorites like the story of 47 Ronin, in which loyal vassals avenge their master; its reason for being doubtless owes something to “Game of Thrones,” with its tribal warfare, Shakespearean overtones and international appeal . Much as in 47 Ronin, Mr. Freeman’s character, Lord Bartok, insults a member of the corrupt court and pays a disastrous price, leading to various downwardly spiraling calamities: His palace is torched, his land seized and his people turned out. Commander Raiden, meanwhile, goes on an exceedingly long bender.

The Japanese director, Kazuaki Kiriya, establishes his action-flick bona fides soon after the movie opens with some deep-forest slicing, dicing, clanging and cape-and-blade twirling. Form shares the stage with function both in this inaugural match and in later fights, where the graceful arc of a cape, the metallic scrape of an unsheathing sword, the stillness of a face and even the pauses register as meaningfully as palpable hits. When Raiden freezes, catlike, after a whirling dervish move, the moment invokes those used in karate demonstrations. They look cool, but they also resonate. Or, as George Balanchine once wrote : “A pause, an interruption, is never empty space between indicated sounds. It is not just nothing. It acts as a carrying agent from the last sound to the next one.”

In classic B-movie tradition, the story is just the stuff that holds together the weapon fetishism and the battles, the costumes and the poses. With Bartok gone, Raiden and his no-longer merry men struggle to adapt to their new normal even as their foes, the emperor (Payman Maadi) and his villainous adviser, Geza Mott (Aksel Hennie), continue their reign of terror, which mainly seems to involve robbing the restless nobility. Geza Mott, as befits his wringing hands and headbanging moniker, also slaps around his wife, Hannah (Park Si-Yeon). There’s plenty of spousal abuse in this man’s world and even Raiden ends up spending his days and nights quaffing booze or stumbling through the streets, allowing his wife, Naomi (Ayelet Zurer), to suffer in dim, unflattering lighting.

Ms. Zurer’s casting is worth noting because she’s an age-appropriate foil for Mr. Owen, a fairly unusual occurrence, and because, as an Israeli, she’s part of the movie’s internationalism. Among the familiar faces are Mr. Maadi, who played the husband in the Iranian art-house hit “A Separation”; the Iranian-born actress Shohreh Aghdashloo; the New Zealand utility player Cliff Curtis; and the Korean-Japanese actor Tsuyoshi Ihara. Years ago, the largely disparaging descriptor Euro-pudding emerged for European co-productions that crossed borders in terms of their financing if not necessarily their stories. By contrast, global goulash like “Last Knights” — which was shot in the Czech Republic — is located in only one domain: that realm known as the international marketplace.

Its cast aside, “Last Knights” proves as square and blandly manly as an old “ Prince Valiant ” comic strip. Mr. Owen’s hairdo and the faint smile edging his lips are more fetching than anything about Val, and the movie’s violence is more explicit than in most vintage comics, but “Knights” also works by combining narrative simplicity with moral certitude and appealing graphics. When Raiden and his men go into battle, their jet-black horses look as if they’ve been obsessively-compulsively dyed to match their riders’ leathery accouterments. Yet what those riders do isn’t all that different from what happens in a “Prince Valiant” panel: “The men put their gear in order and carefully sharpen their swords.” As is often the case in genre cinema, everything is different and exactly the same.

“Last Knights” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardians). Bloody swordplay and one startlingly mobile beheaded body.

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Last Knights Reviews

Kiriya's film moves through well-known paths, creating a nice movie that doesn't exaggerate in its digital effects nor treats the viewer like a fool. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Apr 29, 2020

The only thing that might have saved this film from being a complete snooze-fest would have been some unintentional humour, but Last Knights doesn't even have the decency to be camp.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Dec 10, 2018

Last Knights is both better and worse than Outcast, aka That One With Nicolas Cage and Hayden Christensen and Truly Awful Haircuts.

Full Review | Sep 21, 2016

There's a distinct lack of excitement and sense of adventure that underlines Japanese director Kazuaki Kiriya's medieval-fantasy, Last Knights; a slow, puzzling and dreary sword-and-sandals action that is devoid of any energy.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jun 2, 2016

[It] most specifically reminds one of those bland, abandoned fantasy films that seemed to just materialize from nowhere on video-store shelves in the late 90's.

Full Review | Original Score: D+ | Feb 23, 2016

It's crushingly dull and an utter waste of talent.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Dec 18, 2015

Serious to a fault, Last Knights is a two hour drama that hides a leaner, meaner 90 minute war machine.

Full Review | May 27, 2015

Combines elements of both the typical revenge plot thriller, and then the Game of Thrones inspired castles and brothels environment - offering absolutely nothing that we haven't seen before.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 15, 2015

This is an unrelentingly dour take on the fantasy genre, ditching the wizards, dragons and rampant nudity - aka, the fun stuff.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 13, 2015

A dreadfully boring slog that takes itself far too seriously.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 10, 2015

It's a drag, clichd and tedious, but hey, at least Owen and Freeman can make their rent this month.

Full Review | Original Score: D | Apr 3, 2015

This thing is so garbled and goofy it plays like a parody. Except it's not.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Apr 3, 2015

"Last Knights" is so thoroughly mediocre, so dully empty, that it's difficult to summon the enthusiasm to trash it. And yet, duty calls.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Apr 3, 2015

Once upon a time, filmmakers had the luxury of giving their genre movies time to breathe; you don't see much of that on a big scale any more. I loved this movie, warts and all.

Full Review | Apr 3, 2015

A movie this silly should be prefaced with an apology: "Um, about Last Knights ... "

Full Review | Original Score: 0.5/4 | Apr 3, 2015

Its cast aside, "Last Knights" proves as square and blandly manly as an old "Prince Valiant" comic strip.

Full Review | Apr 2, 2015

As predictable as the wrap-up of one of D.W. Griffith's moralistic epics. What's surprising is how much Last Knights feels as if Griffith's ghost could have directed it.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Apr 2, 2015

The movie's handful of action scenes are decent, but it's so overstuffed with exposition and dull plot points that it's hard to really care about the story or characters.

Full Review | Original Score: 5.8/10 | Apr 2, 2015

There isn't much in the movie that you can't see on cable TV, where the action is bloodier and more energetic, but there's something old-fashioned about Last Knights that's appealing.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 2, 2015

Cobbled together from memories of better movies, Last Knights makes a hash of sword-and-sandal clichés.

Last Knights Review

It's not surprising that Last Knights is subpar -- the film was shot several years ago and is only now getting a limited release in theaters and on VOD -- but it's still disappointing. Stars Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman turn in solid performances for this, and the movie's handful of action scenes are decent, but it's so overstuffed with exposition and dull plot points that it's hard to really care about the story or characters. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter or MaxNicholson on IGN.

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Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

Movie Review – Last Knights (2015)

April 17, 2015 by Gary Collinson

Last Knights , 2015.

Directed by Kazuaki Kiriya. Starring Clive Owen, Morgan Freeman, Aksel Hennie, Cliff Curtis, Dave Legeno and Ayelet Zurer.

Academy Award Nominee Clive Owen delivers an electrifying performance as a fallen warrior who rises against a corrupt and sadistic ruler to avenge his dishonored master, Academy Award Winner Morgan Freeman  in this epic, sword-clashing adventure of loyalty, honor, and vengeance.

If Blockbuster was still a feature of the high street, you would find Last Knights at the bottom of the bargain bin next to a 90s Jennifer Lopez rom-com. Director Kazuaki Kiriya squanders a fairly impressive cast-who frankly look more interested in what they’re going to have for dinner than the source material-and creates a film impressively humourless, dull and painfully mediocre.

Morgan Freeman stars as Bartok, a wise leader with a hankering for motivational speeches, who after 20 minutes dies after all but teasing a corrupt minister (Aksel Hennie). Hennie does as any cliched dictator does and acts a bit of a dick. Enter Clive Owen who attempts to assemble a group of knights to enact revenge-although you have to swim through a sea of exposition, rubbish set-pieces and grossly uninteresting characters to create even the tiniest bit of enthusiasm to reach the half decent final action sequence.

Although these action sequences look as if shot in minutes, by students, off the M1. The cinematography only makes the situation greyer, and far more glum. Frankly, it’s impossible to care who lives or dies when you haven’t a clue who is fighting. Similarly, the editing-scattershot and lazy-worsens the occasion, stretching the film to what feels like a life time.

The characters are interchangeable, the action sequences tedious and the script dull (really, really, really dull). The Blockbuster bargain bin would be too much praise.

Flickering Myth Rating  – Film: ★ / Movie: ★

Thomas Harris

About Gary Collinson

Gary Collinson is a film, television and digital content producer and writer, who is the founder of the pop culture website FlickeringMyth.com and producer of the upcoming gothic horror feature film 'The Baby in the Basket'. He has over 20 years of experience within the industry, including a decade of teaching and lecturing in film and media, and is the author of the book 'Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen'.

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Home > Last Knights Ending Explained

• Last Knights Ending Explained
• UPDATED: February 13, 2024

Table of Contents

Last Knights, a film blending elements of medieval and samurai narratives, presents a gripping tale of honor, vengeance, and sacrifice. Directed by Kazuaki Kiriya and starring Clive Owen as Commander Raiden and Morgan Freeman as Bartok, the film draws inspiration from the Japanese legend of the 47 rōnin, tailoring it into a unique cinematic experience.

Introduction

Last Knights embarks on a journey through a feudal landscape, where the bond between a nobleman and his loyal commander is tested against the backdrop of a corrupt empire. When Bartok, an aging nobleman played by Morgan Freeman, faces humiliation and injustice at the hands of the corrupt minister Geza Mott, portrayed by Aksel Hennie, the story sets the stage for a profound exploration of loyalty and honor.

Plot Overview

The plot unfolds with Bartok’s refusal to bribe Geza Mott, leading to his brutal beating and subsequent trial where he openly criticizes the empire’s loss of honor. This act of defiance results in Bartok’s execution, carried out by his own loyal commander, Raiden, under the orders of the corrupt regime. The disbandment of Bartok’s clan and the division of his estate leave Raiden and his men in despair, setting the groundwork for a meticulously planned revenge against Geza Mott.

The Quest for Vengeance

As the narrative progresses, Raiden, initially portrayed as a fallen warrior succumbing to alcohol and despair, is revealed to have orchestrated a facade to mislead Geza Mott and his watchful eyes. The turning point comes when Raiden and the remnants of Bartok’s clan, with the support of Bartok’s old friend Auguste, launch a daring assault on Geza’s fortified estate. The ensuing confrontation is a testament to their unwavering commitment to avenge their master’s death and restore their honor.

Climactic Resolution

The climax of Last Knights is marked by intense swordplay and strategic warfare, culminating in Raiden’s face-off against Ito, Geza’s loyal warrior, and eventually Raiden’s decapitation of Geza himself. This act of retribution is met with widespread public support, forcing the empire to acknowledge the righteousness of Raiden’s cause, albeit with the harsh reality that Raiden must face execution for his actions against a high council member.

The Ending Unveiled

The film concludes on a poignant note, with Raiden accepting his fate and entrusting the future of the Bartok clan to Lieutenant Cortez. A final flashback reveals Raiden’s heartfelt apology to his wife, Naomi, signifying his peace with the sacrifices made. The closing scene, with Raiden’s sudden opening of his eyes before the screen cuts to black, leaves the audience pondering the true cost of honor and vengeance in a corrupt world.

Last Knights serves as a compelling narrative on the themes of loyalty, honor, and the relentless pursuit of justice against tyranny. Despite mixed critical reception, with Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic highlighting its struggle to bring new elements to the sword-and-sandal genre, the film’s dedication to storytelling and character development offers a riveting exploration of age-old themes through the lens of an action-packed medieval setting​​​​.

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LAST KNIGHTS

"fighting medieval corruption".

What You Need To Know:

(B, H, L, VVV, S, AA, MM) Light moral worldview about duty, honor, justice as hero fights corruption in a fictional kingdom, but in a humanist setting with no reference to religion or God though not Anti-God content, either; one obscenity; strong and brief very strong violence includes fighting, arrows kill men, swords, and a couple decapitations, plus it’s implied the villain beats his wife; a scene of implied adultery and prostitution turns out to be faked for a spy’s benefit; no nudity; alcohol use and drunkenness; no smoking or drugs; and, bribery, corruption.

More Detail:

LAST KNIGHTS is a medieval adventure story set in a fictional time in a fictional world about a knight out to revenge his murdered master, who rebelled and spoke out against corruption in the emperor’s court. It’s an interesting, compelling adventure, but its positive elements are only light overall, and there’s some very strong violence as the hero and his fellow knights overturn the powerful villain in the emperor’s court, who was the source of the worst corruption.

The movie opens with Raiden’s master Lord Bartok (played by Morgan Freeman) being ordered to the empire’s capital to pay homage to the Emperor’s new minister, a corrupt man by the name of Gezza (“Geeza”) Mott. Mott has instituted a system of bribes for noblemen like Bartok, but Bartok chafes at the system. Instead of a nice bribe, Bartok arrives at the capitol with an empty box for Mott, which, of course, infuriates Mott.

Bartok is put on trial for treason. Instead of apologizing, he condemns the Emperor’s new minister and his corruption, adding that the corruption taints the whole empire, including the Emperor. The Emperor orders Raiden himself to behead Bartok right then and there, and all of Bartok’s property is seized. Raiden hesitates, but Bartok orders him not to rebel against the order.

Now without a master, Raiden is devastated by what happened. Though he’s married to a wonderful, loyal woman, he takes up gambling, drinking and womanizing – the things he did in the past before Bartok pulled him out of the gutter. Or, so everyone, including his wife, thinks. Raiden’s actions, however, are all part of a plot with Bartok’s other former knights to fool Mott and the Emperor, infiltrate Mott’s reinforced castle, separate Mott from his men, and mete out justice to Mott. Will Raiden and the knights succeed in their plan?

LAST KNIGHTS has a straightforward, compelling story, with some elaborate sets that give the movie plenty of visual atmosphere. Clive Owen as Raiden, Morgan Freeman as Bartok and the rest of the cast do a good job keeping viewers focused on the characters and how their actions fit into the story. The plot to infiltrate Mott’s castle seems far-fetched, but it plays out in an exciting way that holds your attention. The audience wants Raiden and his friends to succeed.

Though LAST KNIGHTS is something of a morality tale, it’s set in a strange medieval world that’s become corrupt. So, it’s a story about duty, honor, loyalty, and justice. That said, there are plenty of swords and arrows, including some very strong violence such as decapitations. Also, although Raiden really isn’t cheating on his wife, there are a couple scenes suggesting that’s what he’s doing, because the villain has sent spies to track Raiden’s every movement. It’s clever how the filmmakers reveal the opposite, but there’s some brief salacious innuendo before that happens.

All in all, therefore, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for LAST KNIGHTS.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

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Last knights, common sense media reviewers.

Great cast is wasted in violent but dull revenge story.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

The movie is mostly about revenge and deception.

The characters are sullen and violent and indulge

Heavy fantasy-style violence. Swords; bows and arr

A husband and wife kiss. A woman in a tavern is of

The main character is said to have overcome a drin

Parents need to know that Last Knights is a medieval action movie centered on revenge. There's lots of fighting with swords and bows and arrows, as well as bloody wounds, neck slicing, beheading, and some violence toward women. Some kissing is shown (the main character kisses a woman who isn't his wife), and…

Positive Messages

Positive role models.

The characters are sullen and violent and indulge in vices like drinking and casual sex. On the plus side, at least they're a diverse bunch.

Violence & Scariness

Heavy fantasy-style violence. Swords; bows and arrows. A woman has bruises on her face (presumably from her evil husband). A woman is violently slapped. Characters are beaten. Neck-slicing. Beheading. Bloody wounds.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A husband and wife kiss. A woman in a tavern is offered to the main character at "half price." The main character kisses a woman who isn't his wife. Suggestions of nudity. Some innuendo.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

The main character is said to have overcome a drinking problem; he seems to return to it here, although this may be a deception. Several scenes of characters drinking in taverns.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Last Knights is a medieval action movie centered on revenge. There's lots of fighting with swords and bows and arrows, as well as bloody wounds, neck slicing, beheading, and some violence toward women. Some kissing is shown (the main character kisses a woman who isn't his wife), and there are suggestions of nudity and some innuendo. The main character is said to be a recovering drinker, and he seems to start drinking again, but it may be a deception (part of a secret plan). Some scenes take place in taverns, with social drinking. Though the cast is excellent (and notably diverse), the movie is quite dull; it reportedly sat on the shelf for a while before being released. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (2)
• Kids say (1)

Based on 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In what appears to be medieval times, troubled warrior Raiden ( Clive Owen ) has been taken in by a kind and benevolent master, Bartok ( Morgan Freeman ). When summoned to see the emperor ( Peyman Moaadi ), Bartok not only refuses to give the ruler a bribe but also speaks out against the emperor's injustices. At the suggestion of the emperor's vindictive right-hand man, Geza Mott ( Aksel Hennie ), Raiden is forced to kill Bartok. Geza Mott expects Raiden to seek revenge -- and becomes obsessed by it -- but Raiden simply appears to be drinking the days away; news even arrives that he has sold his sword. But when Geza Mott finally relaxes his guard, Raiden and his men unleash their long-gestating plan.

Is It Any Good?

Directed by Japanese filmmaker Kazuaki Kiriya, LAST KNIGHTS starts off promisingly, taking place in a land where many different cultures comfortably interact. The cast comes from the United States, the United Kingdom, Iran, Israel, Norway, New Zealand, etc. -- but aside from appearances, the movie doesn't use its diversity in any meaningful way. Instead, it becomes a dreadfully boring slog that takes itself far too seriously.

For a while, the excellent cast helps keep things afloat with their performances; Freeman and Owen in particular seem to have a strong bond. But when Freeman leaves the story, things get terribly slow and creaky. The filmmakers try to keep Raiden's "brilliant" plan a secret from the audience so that it comes as a "surprise," but because it's a waiting game, it just gets dull. Then the final battle is a mushy, gray blur. It's a shame that good actors like Shohreh Aghdashloo , Cliff Curtis , Moaadi, and the others have so very little to do here. The audience has even less.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Last Knights ' violence . Is it thrilling or disturbing? What's the difference? Do you think all of it is necessary to the story?

Does the main character seem to have a drinking problem? How can you tell? What impact does that have on the story?

Does the movie seem to be taking place in the real world? How do various cultures interact in this movie? Did you notice any stereotypes ?

What's the appeal of stories that take place in "medieval" times?

Movie Details

• In theaters : April 3, 2015
• On DVD or streaming : June 30, 2015
• Cast : Clive Owen , Morgan Freeman , Aksel Hennie
• Director : Kazuaki Kiriya
• Inclusion Information : Black actors
• Studio : Lionsgate
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Run time : 115 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : some violence
• Last updated : June 12, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Last Knights

• A fallen warrior rises against a corrupt and sadistic ruler to avenge his dishonored master.
• A fallen warrior rises against a corrupt and sadistic ruler to avenge his dishonored master in a sword-clashing adventure of loyalty, honor, and vengeance. — Lionsgate
• When the corrupt minister Geza Mott demands more taxes from Lord Bartok, he goes to his castle with Commander Raiden and his knights. He challenges Geza Mott and tries to kill him but the Emperor sentences him to be beheaded by Raiden. Further, he deprives the castle and lands from his family. Geza Mott asks his commander to follow Raiden and builds an iron gate in the entrance of his castle expecting revenge, but Raiden prefers to drink instead becoming a drunkard. One year later, the knights want to seek revenge against the dishonor of their Lord. Geza Mott has neglected his security since Raiden is an alcoholic bum. What will happen to Raiden? — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Burdened by the unbearable guilt of what he has done, Raiden--the battle-scarred swordsman and the once-proud Commander of the Seventh Rank--still drowns his sorrows, one long year later. However, as Geza Mott--the corrupt minister responsible for Raiden's fall from grace--fortifies his castle for fear of being targeted, Raiden's insuppressible values of duty, loyalty, and honour demand immediate action. Can Raiden confront his inner demons to finally reunite with his old comrades in arms, for one last battle for justice? — Nick Riganas
• Bartok (Morgan Freeman) watches over his estate, a vassal kingdom to a great empire. Protecting the Bartok clan is Commander Raiden (Clive Owen) and his elite soldiers, who also serve Bartok. Raiden is surprised when Bartok tells him that he is to be his heir and gives him a sword. Raiden and his knights have honed their skills through years of battle and are fiercely loyal to Bartok. Under their watch Bartok's estate has resisted numerous attempts at being overrun by rival estates. Bartok has been summoned to the Capital by the Emperor, to meet minister Geza Mott, to review new protocols and duties. Bartok knows that Geza only demands a bribe, disguised as a gift, to remain in his good graces. Raiden advises him to pay the "gift", but Bartok refuses to indulge Geza as a matter of principle. Bartok says that if he indulges Geza, he will eventually lose half his estate and would have to torture his people to support the demands of those above. Raiden accompanies Bartok to the Capital with some of his Knights. The empire has become corrupt and the evil minister, Geza Mott (Aksel Hennie), humiliates Bartok by beating him with a stick for failing to provide an adequate bribe (Bartok only presents a silk robe), until Bartok retaliates - which is treason against the crown. Bartok is put to trial where he speaks openly of his disdain for what honor has become in the empire. The protests the fact that noblemen do all the work in the empire, build roads, provide armies, employ the nation & yet are subjected to humiliation by the crown. Bartok says that his only true crime is that he failed to kill Geza when he had the chance. He is sentenced to death by the emperor (Peyman Moaadi) and Raiden is ordered to execute his own master, else the entire Bartok clan will be murdered. Bartok's estate is divided, and the Bartok clan is disbanded and forced out of their own homes. Geza Mott suspects Raiden will demand vengeance, and has his trusted warrior, Ito (Tsuyoshi Ihara), watch Raiden to ensure there is no possibility of revenge. The Emperor refuses to kill Raiden without any proof, as that would enrage the 2 million knights of the empire, and they may revolt against the crown. The knights of the Bartok clan are disbanded as well. Ito handles the eviction of Bartok's estates and makes sure that the family is treated with due respect. The castle is set on fire. A year passes and Raiden is now a drunk. Geza is still highly fearful of Raiden's wrath and demands half (1000 men) his father-in-law's Auguste's (Ahn Sung-Ki) troops to safeguard him while he completes construction of his newly fortified estate, with more soldiers than the emperor's own security detail. Auguste is livid with Geza for physically abusing his daughter Hannah (Park Si-Yeon) but is powerless to do anything about it. Meanwhile, Geza has used the proceeds of corruption to build a huge palace for himself, which is guarded by an enormous iron gate at the entrance, which is capable of holding back an entire army. The palace is well protected by a 2-sided drawbridge, a soldiers barracks (with 250 soldiers), a maze (overlooked by a pavilion capable of raining down arrows), and leading to a plaza with the iron gate which is impossible to open from the outside. Raiden's wife, Naomi (Ayelet Zurer), couldn't bear to be with him as he had fallen so low, with Raiden even selling his sword for more drink. When Bartok's virgin daughter is offered to Raiden in a brothel, he shows no concern for her but leaves the premises. Geza finally lets his guard down and stops watching Raiden. It is now revealed that Raiden and the Bartok clan soldiers sacrificed everything for the illusion of a complete defeat and have been waiting for the right time to group and together regain the clan's honor by avenging their master's death. Raiden's men have been working in secret, building up contacts and connections, and gathering intelligence about Geza's estate - even secretly altering his estate to help them overcome the formidable defenses. Raiden is re-united with his sword. As Raiden's men infiltrate the estate, Auguste (Ahn Sung-Ki) has secretly made a pact with Raiden to help him, in exchange for Raiden's help to free his daughter from her marriage to Geza Mott. Geza has always mistreated Auguste's daughter which, along with Bartok's execution, causes Auguste to see that his vicious son-in-law has no honor. Auguste helps smuggle Raiden's knights into Geza's palace inside a large mirror that he presents to Geza as a gift. Raiden and his men successfully infiltrate Geza's estate, are discovered, and need to face a large number of soldiers. Raiden's men fall one by one as they enter deep into Geza's estate. The man inside the mirror is freed by Hannah and he opens the iron gate but is killed by Geza's troops in the process. Once inside, Raiden locks the iron gates and locks out the rest of Geza's army. Ito takes responsibility for his complacency and duels with Raiden. Ito's sword fails and Raiden kills him. Raiden breaks into Geza's bedroom and decapitates him. With Geza dead, Raiden's surviving group rescues Bartok's daughter and tells her that Bartok's honor is restored. When word reaches the Emperor, he discusses with his council on how to deal with Bartok's soldiers, who caution him against the risk of turning the people against the crown. They realize that the public view Geza's death as a righteous one, and widely support the Bartok clan. The council advice that any judgment should restore their honor, rather than make them martyrs. Raiden asks that he be the only one executed for Geza's death. The crown publicly admits the righteousness of the Bartok clan, but also reminds the crowd that killing a high council member is still the same as an attack on the emperor and Raiden will be executed. Before his execution, Raiden charges Lt. Cortez (Cliff Curtis) to take control of the surviving Bartok clan. Once inside, he sees Naomi one last time to apologize for her suffering before making peace with his own life. Raiden lowers his head with his eyes closed, and as the executioner draws his sword back, Raiden's eyes suddenly open wide and the screen goes to black.

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Last Knights Review

17 Apr 2015

112 minutes

Last Knights

Clive Owen and (for a while) Morgan Freeman figure in this knights-and-honour pudding, which is surprisingly watchable rubbish. The atrocious script has much to jeer, the action’s so-so, and the multinational cast brings back memories of Sean Connery’s Scot Spaniard in Highlander. (An ‘Emperor’ is played by Iranian actor-director Peyman Moaadi from A Separation.) Yet Last Knights has mild interest if you dodge the spoiler-heavy trailer, especially in the drama’s focus on the paranoid fears of the villain (played by Norway’s Askel Hennie). Directed by Japan’s Kazuaki Kiriya, don’t expect the bright sumptuousness of his Casshern or Goemon, but the pale, papery look works quite well.

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, transformers: the last knight.

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“Transformers: The Last Knight” opens and closes with chaos. The first scene features bodies flying everywhere as flames pierce the sky in Michael Bay ’s reimagining of the Knights of the Round Table, in which Merlin’s magic is a gift from the alien robots so many know and love. The last scenes, and this is no spoiler if you’ve ever seen a Michael Bay movie, feature bodies flying everywhere as metal and flames pierce the sky. In between, there’s a bit of mythology, some running and screaming, a ton of slo-mo, a dash of racism, a great actor wasted in a character who could have been named “Exposition Dump,” and so much incoherent noise that you’ll want to bang your head on the seat in front of you just to get some rest.

After two sequels that took the fun spirit of the “ Transformers ” and turned them into something with the artistic depth of a Monster Energy Drink, Bay appeared to reboot the franchise with the relatively solid “ Transformers: Age of Extinction .” He found one of our most charismatic leading men in Mark Wahlberg , gave him an awesomely perfect name like Cade Yeager, filled out a better-than-average supporting cast, and provided major set pieces across the world, including leveling a bit more destruction at Chicago. “AoE” suffered from Bay Bloat (165 minutes!) and some of the other technical problems of the previous sequels, but it offered hope.

Hope dies during "Transformers: The Last Knight." From the very beginning, this is an incoherent mess. Cade’s daughter and her boyfriend—both memorable characters from the last film—are gone, the daughter written off with a couple of horrendously manipulative beats about her being at college and Yeager being on the run. He can save the world but he can’t see his daughter. Whatever, fine, but also gone are Stanley Tucci (other than a brief cameo as Merlin in the opening scenes) and Kelsey Grammer . The villains of the first film are replaced here by a purely CGI enemy named Quintessa ( Gemma Chan ), an interstellar being who wants to use the home planet of the Transformers to destroy Earth by basically crashing them into one another. She’s such a cartoonish, poorly designed villain that she never feels like a real threat.

I’m getting ahead of myself. “The Last Knight” picks up relatively where the last film left off. Optimus Prime is headed back to his home planet to tell the universe to leave Earth alone. Yeager is now in hiding, as being a massive alien robot is still against international law, and he's still aligned with the remaining Autobots. He’s “in hiding” in the biggest auto field in the Midwest, but those kind of logical leaps are easy to let slide in a summer blockbuster when it’s working. He has a new assistant ( Jerrod Carmichael ), is working on repairing Bumblebee, and gets a spunky preteen sidekick who feels like the character sitcoms used to add late in their run when everyone knew the original kids got too old (think Sam on “Diff'rent Strokes”). And then pretty much all of the set-up—including any sort of immigration analogy about the fear of foreigners represented by the hunted Transformers—is thrown out. There’s a point in the script when you can literally tell when it was handed to a different writing crew. It starts as one movie and then, bizarrely, takes a hard-right turn to England and becomes something else entirely.

You see, Yeager found a talisman on a dying transformer, and that relic ties him to the long and storied history of the aliens. As these films have grown in budget, Bay has piled on more and more mythology, and I think the reason this is billed as the final chapter is because there’s literally nowhere else to go. Through remarkably expository scenes courtesy of Sir Anthony Hopkins and John Turturro , we learn that people have known about the Transformers for centuries and that notable geniuses like Mozart and FDR helped keep their existence a secret. In return, the robots gave the human race gifts, including the Transformer watch that killed Hitler. No, I’m not making that up.

Weaving the mythology of these killer cars into world history isn’t a bad idea, and reflects the tongue-in-cheek pleasure these movies could have been (I’d watch the heck out of “Bumblebee vs. The Third Reich”) but it’s all so thinly and poorly handled here. Before you can truly enjoy it, we’re back with the revelation that Cade now has a connection with the Transformers (because of the talisman and because of some other nonsense I couldn’t begin to explain) and his new gorgeous friend Vivian ( Laura Haddock ) is the only one who can wield Merlin’s staff, a necessary skill to save the Earth .

You’re saying, “How could a movie that weaves together metal dragons, Merlin’s staff, Sir Anthony Hopkins and world-killing aliens be all that bad?” Because it’s just not fun. More than any film Bay has made, "The Last Knight" is incoherent to the point of parody. Action scenes are poorly choreographed, dialogue is weaker than ever, and plot twists make no sense. At one point, the leads are on a submarine and I couldn’t for the life of me tell you why. Not only is it transparent that no one involved bothered with the plot—Wahlberg has never given such a lazy performance as he does here—but the editing and effects are stunningly shoddy. There’s no geography to any of the scenes, so you can’t tell what the heck is happening. At least the last film had a few action set pieces that worked and the third film had the destruction of Chicago to wow viewers. This film does not have a single memorable action sequence in it. And it starts at such a ridiculous pitch that it has nowhere to go—Yeager is reintroduced shooting a robot in slow motion. Bay has always been willing to forego things like rising action or building tension to try and blast viewers to their seats from first frame to last. But it gets so exhausting to watch another movie that starts at 11 and then never varies the volume.

Here’s where the chorus of Critic-Proof Franchises kicks in. Michael Bay made this for fans of the franchise and not the notoriously-hard-on-it critics. Diehards will ignore that I liked the first film and parts of the third and fourth films (the second is still a cinematic abomination). I get it. We love to forgive the failures of franchises we adore. Even critics do that. But even fans of this series have to take a hard look at the outright, shocking laziness of this movie—one that does the bare minimum to get butts in seats. Even in bad action movies, there’s often a glimpse of artistic potential gone awry or attempts to entertain that just didn’t work. I began to actively try to find that here, to find a way to see how this went off the rails. I came to the conclusion that no one cared. There’s just so little effort to make sense or make it interesting, even for the fans. It was a contractual obligation and a paycheck. They could have called it “Transformers: Someone Needs a New Beach House.” 

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

Rated PG-13 for violence and intense sequences of sci-fi action, language, and some innuendo.

149 minutes

Mark Wahlberg as Cade

Gemma Chan as Quintessa

Jerrod Carmichael as Jimmy

Laura Haddock as Vivian Wembley

Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime (voice)

Frank Welker as Galvatron / Megatron (voice)

John Goodman as Hound (voice)

Ken Watanabe as Drift (voice)

John DiMaggio as Crosshairs (voice)

Jess Harnell as Barricade (Voice)

Josh Duhamel as Colonel Lennox

Anthony Hopkins as Sir Edmund Burton

Santiago Cabrera as Santos

John Turturro as Agents Simmons

Tony Hale as JPL Engineer

• Michael Bay

Writer (story by)

• Akiva Goldsman
• Matt Holloway

Cinematographer

• Jonathan Sela
• Roger Barton
• Adam Gerstel
• John Refoua
• Debra Neil-Fisher
• Mark Sanger
• Calvin Wimmer
• Steve Jablonsky

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Review: ‘Civil War’ shows an America long past unraveling, which makes it necessary

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The sharp crack of a snare drum, shuffling along at an insistent martial clip, is what first kicks “Civil War” into gear. The beat is joined by some menacing electronic bloops and nervous muttering, and while you may assume this is the work of some promising young bedroom producer, it’s actually a 1968 track, “Lovefingers,” by the radical duo Silver Apples.

Somehow, the music matches the nervous, revolutionary energy on screen: the unlikely sight of an angry Brooklyn patrolled by troops, hundreds of people clashing in the streets, a suicide bomber putting an abrupt punctuation to it all. “Civil War” will remind you of the great combat films, the nauseating artillery ping of “Saving Private Ryan,” the surreal up-is-down journey of “Apocalypse Now.” It also bears a pronounced connection to the 2002 zombie road movie scripted by its writer-director Alex Garland, “28 Days Later,” a production that straddled the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and arrived in theaters scarred by timeliness.

It’s the nowness of “Civil War” that will be much discussed. The movie takes place in an America that’s been amplified from its current state of near-insurrection, but only slightly, a distance that feels troublingly small. An autocratic third-term president ( Nick Offerman ) practices a pompous speech in front of a teleprompter. California and Texas have seceded, becoming unlikely allies in a campaign to retake the capital. The suburban landscape is strewn with bombed-out malls, vicious intolerance and, most spookily of all, an occasional town in which everything seems normal, where a blasé salesclerk can be aware of the country falling apart one state over but still put up a personal wall. “We just try to stay out,” she says.

To the British-born Garland, a maker of thematically rich sci-fi films that play more like broken mirrors ( “Ex Machina,” “Annihilation” ), apathy is the real enemy. “Civil War” shudders with doleful fury. It’s not a “fun” fascist dystopia like John Carpenter ’s immortal “Escape from New York” or the Garland-scripted 2012 “Dredd,” but one in which we’re meant to feel the irrevocable loss of something bigger with each frame.

Accordingly, Garland makes his heroes a pair of photojournalists, one hard-nosed, the other, a budding junkie. As played by an unusually grave and commanding Kirsten Dunst, Lee knows from many a rubble-strewn hot spot and seems long past the irony of discovering one at home. Jessie (Cailee Spaeny, emerging from the soft passivity of “Priscilla” ) only wants some action. If colleges still existed, she’d be graduating from one. Instead, she hopes to sneak into the school of Lee’s fearlessness. The elder newshound looks at this unwanted disciple with weary eyes that recognize a shared curse. “That’s a great photo,” she tells Jessie, sadly.

They, along with Lee’s writer colleague Joel (the fine Brazilian actor Wagner Moura ) and a veteran journalist, Sammy ( Stephen McKinley Henderson ), who works for a much-diminished, perhaps criminalized New York Times, are making a run from New York City to Washington, D.C., where they hope to interview the president, bunkered in the White House and on the brink of surrender. “It’s the only story left,” insists Joel, even as we hear that press members have a tendency to get shot on the South Lawn.

“Civil War” then becomes a thrillingly dark road trip, studded by moments of explosive tension and dangerous misjudgment that play less like bite-size episodes of “The Last of Us” than signposts of an overall political condition. (If you love post-apocalyptic journeys, buckle up — the tank’s full.) Some of Garland’s imagery is overly familiar, like the line of abandoned cars that stretches to the horizon. He also leans hard on some overaesthetized slo-mo pageantry that, combined with the occasional indie-guitar strums on the soundtrack, threaten to turn his concept into a Statement.

But the scenes that work will get you thinking. Garland is strongest with impressions: chirping birds over bloody lawns, the laconic humor of exhausted soldiers on a stakeout, a quick shot of Lee deleting some of her own photos, a private mode of self-care. In one scene, a frighteningly calm xenophobe with a rifle (Jesse Plemons) menaces from behind red-tinted lenses.“What kind of American are you?” he asks, finger on the trigger, the movie sharpening into something unbearable.

Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny on the nightmarish ‘Civil War’: ‘No nation is immune’

Writer-director Alex Garland’s controversy-courting political fable about a violently divided America brings together two generation-defining actors.

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For some, those glasses will be bait enough, a MAGA hat to coastal bulls. But for the most part, what Garland is after is less accusatory and more provocative, detached from the kind of red-state-blue-state binary that would trap “Civil War” in amber before it had a chance to breathe. Do we deserve a democracy if we can barely speak to each other? This is a film set in a future when words no longer matter. Even the final words of power-grabbing leaders disappoint.

At some point, the hugeness of modern-day military hardware, much of it digitally rendered, sweeps in, the pounding rotors of helicopters and urban street-clearing machinery orchestrated into an overwhelming last act. The shock of watching tanks roll down Pennsylvania Avenue is a disquieting vision best experienced in a multiplex, not real life. But the takeaway isn’t exhilaration; the unease is what makes Garland’s film valuable. You watch it with your jaw hanging open.

What of our heroic journalists? Dunst and Spaeny continue a long-telegraphed transfer of status, both actors digging for expressions beyond stunned, but this isn’t a chatty film. It’s main purpose is to turn us into observers ourselves. And regardless of what may come ahead — at the movies and beyond — there won’t be a more important film this year.

'Civil War'

Rating: R, for strong violent content, bloody/disturbing images, and language throughout Running time: 1 hour, 49 minutes Playing: In wide release Friday, April 12

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Joshua Rothkopf is film editor of the Los Angeles Times. He most recently served as senior movies editor at Entertainment Weekly. Before then, Rothkopf spent 16 years at Time Out New York, where he was film editor and senior film critic. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Sight and Sound, Empire, Rolling Stone and In These Times, where he was chief film critic from 1999 to 2003.

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