As usual for these Oscar worthy movies, it was far too long. It dragged in the second half. For me, by far the most successful scenes were those filmed in the recording studios, Aretha and the band finding their way to perfection. Yes, Jennifer Hudson was terrific and will bet an Oscar nomination. But the men were all bullies and their performances lacked authority, from Forrest Whittaker just a caricature as Aretha's father to husbands and managers. Just the band again were fine.
The political stuff about Martin Luther King seemed to be out of a different movie and Aretha's children were never properly explained or even introduced. The obligatory alcohol abuse just made me think of Freddy in Bohemian Rhapsody. But then we have Marc Marm as Jerry Wexler, a supporting classic.
Despite the mostly rave reviews, such as Kevin Maher's "all heart, a moving portrait of an antiquated hero facing his obsolescence", (that would have been nice) I was mainly bored by the predictable and repetitious action sequences that over powered the drama of this Bond's final outing. Although I should have known having re-read my reviews for his last two missions, that we had seen it all before. These days I'm just not a fan of staged fights, car chases and shooting battles. The lack of chemistry between Bond and Lea Seydoux's Swann was made all the more lacklustre by a weak script. Phoebe Waller Bridge seemed only to provide those sharp one liners.
The best part of the film was the sequence in Cuba with the glorious Ana de Armas. And unfortunately too young for this aging Bond. But then she was gone! Given the long running time, I was amazed that little explanation of the nanobots was rushed and this part of the story was lost. M seemed to be a boss who had crashed. How can that be? And why did we have to have a child in the final part? No!
And so here, we even have an extra half hour to endure. Perhaps actually cutting an hour, as one critic suggested, might have helped. All substance and little style. Who would have thought that about the aging Daniel Craig. There are those hints of previous movies, even the final credits song is that unoriginal and now tedious and worn out "We have all the time in the world" from the 1969 Bond film On Her Majesties Secret Service". How can I say that about a John Barry composition. It's not his fault that Hal David's lyrics and Louis Armstrong's delivery are now pretty naff. That sums up the film. Not quite as harsh as Camilla Long's verdict, but still best forgotten.
What is it about The Last Duel that audiences don't want to see? Based on a true story, it has only been shown for a week in my local multiplex with small audiences. Although an 18 certificate, this seems less violent than some of the recent horror films that manage a 15 grading. It must be the subject matter that revolves around the attack on Jodie Comer. Now that is nasty, but we are in 14th Century France and such is commonplace. But I did like the way the story was told from the three different perspectives the main characters. I liked the way there were some subtle hints in the earlier stories that were confirmed in a later section. On screenrant.com there is an analysis by Erin Edmonson of where the film deviates from the true life book, but none are critical to main thrust of the plot.
As to the cast, I have to agree with the general opinion that Jodie Comer is superb (more of an Oscar winner to me than Jennifer Hudson) and in my eyes head and shoulders above Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Ben Affleck. The hair of Damon and Affleck are a source of amusement: Matt's Mullet and Ben's Bleach. All the men are pretty odious characters. Then there are occasional British actors in cameo roles such as Clive Russell and John Kavanagh who are superb. Harriet Walter is always good. Even the occasionally wooden TV star Nathaniel Parker changed his voice to startlingly great effect. Ridley Scott does a fine job as director and the costumes, make up and production design should receive Oscar nominations. So should this important film, only held back by some clunky dialogue. It could have been superb.
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