The Last King (2016) User Reviews (33)

All it needs is a better story

[peefyn · 6/10 · 17 September 2016]

As a Norwegian, I appreciate that we are starting to make movies that on a technical level are as good as this. The costumes, locations, music, special effects and acting were all on a professional level, just as something you would expect from any other European movie.

The setting was also good. Norway should take advantage of its history, and make the kind of movies that it would not make sense for other countries to make. Speaking as a Norwegian, there are too few good cross-country skiing action sequences out there.

The story that this is based on is interesting, but the movie's flaw is that it never quite managed to capture the drama inherit in the story it tells. I found myself not caring much about the scenes with the scheming and plotting, the villain and his people. All of that. In fact, that most interesting part of the movie was probably the "Two men and a baby"-aspect of it, which at times were very enjoyable.

Longest ski chase in the history of cinema

[SeaBassEon · 7/10 · 4 February 2017]

Anyone who likes medieval action movie or historical re-enactment will enjoy this film. It's not a memorable film unfortunately. Sure there's dynamic double axe battles, Nordic landscapes to admire and history but it lacks that special touch masterpieces have.

Two men carry and protect the baby son of the dead king of Norwegia across the mountains from Lilhammer. They are Norwegian Ski Infantry (Birkebeiner).The Church wants this baby dead in order to take control of the other half of the country. Inspired by true events, these heroic stories changed Norwegian history forever.

Modern Birkebeiner racers also re-enact the famous ski tour, this time around going in the opposite direction. They are all required to bear a backpack weighing at least 3.5 kilos, meant to represent the pack containing the royal infant.

A pretty decent & entertaining movie

[jimspaid-86934 · 7/10 · 16 January 2017]

I always enjoy historical-type movies. This one is no exception. I did stream with English 5.1 instead of subtitles, but it really didn't take away from the movie. The film depicted this era of Norway as quite brutal. I'm sure it was. Kings & heirs, civil war, brutality. It was all here. I don't judge acting so I really didn't notice if it was not perfect. I liked the plot & the movie flowed smoothly enough to follow without questioning what was happening. The scenery, well, when it wasn't overcast or snowing, was great. Lots of ski action too. Some of the scenes caught me off guard but I won't say which ones. There may have been a few hiccups, but overall I found it to be a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Very Entertaining! Stays true to history, with a few minor changes

[mcmivc · 7/10 · 21 February 2016]

As I am a huge fan of my country's history, this film was right up my alley. All the historical elements of the film are excellently portrayed. A few historical facts were changed a little, but not so much that it ruins the film. The changes work. The more fictional parts of the film are also very good.

The acting is also very nice. Main actors Kristofer Hivju and Jakob Oftebro have a lot of good chemistry and work well off each other. The other actors do a good job too.

The cinematography is wonderful. Beautiful shots of the Norwegian wilderness make this a spectacular viewing experience.

All in all, this film is excellent!

Heir of the Vikings

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 25 December 2016]

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

Beautiful and entertaining, but a bit genre confused film

[OJT · 6/10 · 12 February 2016]

The Last King (Birkebeinerne) is the fourth Northern from acclaimed Norweiagn Oscar nominee director Nils Gaup, which was Ocar nominated for his first inside just this genre, Pathfinder (Veiviseren). And this film has many parts which resembles just that film.

This is also based on an ancient old story. Back in 1206, when there was a civil war raging Norway, with basis in religion and country over the wast country in Nothern Europe. we're told the fight for the crown of the Norwegian empire. Also Pathfinder was based on a long gone true story, at least as a story told through generations.

I would think Nils Gaup should be able to make a rally good movie out of this, like he did with both Pathfinder and the brilliant The Kautokeino Rebellion. I'm afraid this film is a bit closer to the flop Tashunga. all of which were Northers, with stories i snowy landscapes.

The film wants to entertain. maybe a bit too much. The audience did laugh,several times, but the excitement and the funny parts are not that well kept together as I would like. Still this film has many interesting and worthy parts, making this an overall OK entertainment, while the true story is well kept in story telling.

This film is very beautiful, with awesome nature and winter filming. It's also fantastic to see the skiers do their part. The film functions to a great part, though there are some fighting scenes which I don't think works that well, I also found some of the dialog a bit stale, but that won't bother most watchers around the world. a couple of actors also seems like they have trouble, like Kristofer Hivju, who really uses his big eyes too much, and the young princess is also less believable, I'm afraid.

Still, this story functions enough for a 6/10.

Birkebeinerne: an instructive Norwegian Tale.

[niutta-enrico · 6/10 · 4 August 2016]

I watched it out of curiosity because I never heard the term 'Birkerbeiner' before (the beautiful tale of Håkon Håkonsson hasn't reached the bulk of ignorant Mediterranean men yet) and I am more than happy to have done it.

It wasn't really a memorable film, however: many scenes lacked realism and the plot was oversimplified, on my humble opinion. Which was something I didn't expect given the huge talent of Scandinavian screenwriters (e.g. Anders Thomas Jensen or Kim Fupz Aakeson, just to quote two of my favorites...).

In any case it was instructive and I'm sure that many people from all around the world will enjoy the story and recognize many actors such as Kristofer Hivju (from 'Game of Thrones'), Nikolaj Lie Kaas (from 'Child 44'), Thorbjørn Harr (from 'Vikings') or Pål Sverre Hagen, (from 'Kon Tiki') who I'm sure are by now familiar faces to international audiences.

Birkebeinerne is technical wonder from Norway but its writing is pretty bad.

[shobanchittuprolu · 5/10 · 28 September 2016]

Birkebeinerne (2016): When I watched trailer of this film,I got absolutely stunned with its making.I never expected such high standards from a Norwegian movie.But when I watched its movie I realized that the standards are confined only to technical purpose but not on writing.

Plot: Based on real Birkebeiner's(A rebellious group) story,it follows journey of two Birkebeiners Skjervald (Jakob Oftebro) and Torstein (Kristofer Hivju) along with a months old King's illegitimate son child Hakon Håkonssonwho has grave danger from those who want to claim throne.So how did they succeed in saving the child and making him king forms rest of the adventure.

Plus Points:

1)Cinematography: Birkebeinerne has one of the most brilliant cinematography for a foreign film.The way they showed the beauty of mountains with snow is breathtaking.

2)Art direction: Though its largely inspired from Game of Thrones,its commendable job for Norwegian work.This work is beyond their range.Loved their work

Minus Points: Though this movie is technically strong,its writing failed terribly.There is literally no interesting movie in this boredom.Though it has some decent plot,its execution part is bad.

So,Birkebeinerne is technical wonder from Norway but its writing is pretty bad.

My rating 4.75/10

Medieval action adventure from Norway

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 26 January 2017]

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.

Like getting stabbed in the Sense

[DuskShadow · 2/10 · 19 April 2018]

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.

Beautiful Snowy Ax-Wielding Fun

[MeetJohnSmith · 10/10 · 18 June 2016]

This is a fun action movie (sword and romance) set in really beautiful winter scenery. If you like Game of Thrones, but want more snow with your ax wielding heroes, this is a great film for you.

I saw it in a theater, and the audience was completely in to it; it's been awhile since I've been a theater where audience members shout out encouragement to characters on screen, and it's so fun to have a movie where the audience cheers at key points.

I can't remember a film in which infants were used so effectively; you truly have a concern for the characters' safety.

The casting of our four heroes (Thor, Skeivie, Inga and Haakon) is perfect. Skeivie looks like they decided to cast Clay Matthews of the Green Bay packers as a heroic viking warrior.

I also found the particularly compelling the fight scenes. They obviously didn't have a budget that would enable them to have a cast of thousands for their battle scenes, and somehow that gives greater believe-ability to the fight scenes. Our main heroes don't (implausibly) kill hundreds of faceless stuntmen (as is so often the case in action movies and superhero movies these days). Instead, our heroes are faced with having to take on specific opponents who seem truly intent on our heroes' demise/destruction.

Slightly implausible is the topography displayed in the movie -- truly beautiful, but who knew that 99% of the topography in Norway is downhill? (I know, downhill chase scenes on skis are more compelling than uphill chase scenes on skis).

The only slight weak point I would identify is the sub-story line about the young princess. OK, we know that story line is useful to show our villain is a truly bad guy, but our princess looks like she was recruited from a local mall, and told "here, put on this dress and look scared"; they didn't give her much to work with, and it shows. But one could say the same about young female characters in some of the Star War movies.

Some may find annoying too that there are little story lines that appear, and then are left unresolved, like what happens to the evil queen after she exits? Because of this, on occasion, one feels like the producer is setting up plot lines for future sequels. Hopefully that's true, and a sequel is coming! I'd buy tickets immediately!

The Last Kingdom.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 7/10 · 25 January 2017]

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.

Bad acting, bad script & bad movie making

[micke-bystrom · 4/10 · 10 January 2019]

Why do northern movies and TV-series so often suffer from bad acting and bad scripts telling a story, that may have appeared interesting as a treatment, in a way that just doesn't convince? This isn't in the 1910s; in the 2010s this is not good enough. Tell a story and make it real in every little detail! Skillful people do this again and again.

Next time give the job to someone that can tell a film story properly. I'm going to avoid Ravn Lanesskog and Nils Gaup. Don't waste your time.

decent

[Kirpianuscus · 29 October 2018]

A portrait of Norway in the beginning of XIII century. Fight for power, heroism, noble cause, fights , sky scenes. A baby. Reasonable performances, nice script, not exactly surprises and that historical film who you expect. Not great but a good job. Maybe, it is more than a precious virtue today. For the beautiful cinematography, for the predictable plot, for simplicity and return to the heroic old fashion stories.

Good movie

[billteller · 7/10 · 31 May 2021]

I know absolutely nothing about Norway's history, so I'm unable to judge this for its accuracy. But it was a very enjoyable film to watch. A good mix of action, drama, a beautiful scenery. It's worth the time to invest.

Regular, production good...

[RosanaBotafogo · 7/10 · 18 February 2021]

I love films in the snow, mediable films are usually beautiful, and well produced, but they rarely attract me, the cold images must freeze my heart, there are few scenes that really interest me, uninteresting story and beat, betrayals, struggles for kingdoms, battles throne, unattractive, but the scenes with the baby stole my heart... The third and last act was the most significant, regular movie...

An epic adventure with full of snowy chases dealing with Norwegian medieval kings

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 4 May 2022]

This is a story of legendary bravery with thrills , emotion , court intrigue adventures and spectacular snowy pursuits in James Bond films style . Based on historical events and ancient folk-tale from Norway, concerning a story which changed the course of the country's history. In the year 1206 Norway is raged by civil war. The King's illegitimate infant son, Håkon Håkonsson, which half the kingdom wants killed off, is guarded in secrecy by two men but a nasty usurper tracks them down to eliminate the true heir .

The plot is plain and simple , two warriors protects a baby and they want to escape but aremercilessly chased , then , things go wrong . Functional but unknown cast , exception for Kristofer Hivju of Game of Thrones . There are historical remarks with appearance of some Norwegian kings , such as Håkon III Sverresson, Inge II Bårdsson & Håkon IV Håkonsson and in fact , in 1217 , 13-year-old Hakon Hakonsson took over the throne from Inge Bardson and held the kingdom for 46 years. During his reign , there was peace in Norway .

The brutal pursuers and impressive chases deliver the goods with breathtaking scenarios. This classy adaptation is an exciting picture plenty of action, thrills, chills , roller-coaster ride, violence and breathtaking fights .Furthermore , the astonishing killings are gruesome executed and grisly graphic . There's also a certain anachronism and three languages are spoken in the movie . The atmospheric photography by cameraman Peter Mokrosinski with a sort of never-ending dawn is truly awesome. It's a kind of light mingled in a moody and foggy atmosphere. Stirring and evocative musical score by Scandinavian composer Gaute Storaas , including traditional songs . Stunning and gripping realization by Nils Gaup . He was born in 1955 in Kautokeino, Norway. Gaup is a director and actor, who has made a few but acceptable films , being especially known for Pathfinder (1987), , Misery harbour (1989) , Above Water (1993) , North star (1996) , Journey to the Christmas Star (2012) and The last King (2017) . Gaup turned down offers to direct No without my daughter (1991) with Sally Field, RoboCop (1987) and many others. He began to direct Waterworld (1995), but he thought the budget was blown up and the project too difficult to handle. Rating : 6/10. Acceptable and passable.

Chase on skis

[nickboldrini · 6/10 · 6 November 2018]

Not a bad film, but not that greatly paced. Basically a long chase on ski's, intercut with some fighting, this is decent enough, not terrible, but not worth tracking down to see.

It should have been better than it is

[iantrader · 4/10 · 16 March 2018]

Based on true events or not, as a movie it doesn't quite hit the mark.

There's the good guys and the bad guys and lots of fighting - it's a sort of action flick on skis - but there's far too much 'they nearly get them, they escape, they nearly get them, they escape' going on. Far, too much.

I really like foreign movies, particularly Scandinavian, and it's well made and well acted with great scenery and costumes but the story drags on and out.

Ok for a rainy - or snowy! afternoon - but, alas, not a great movie.

Nice effects, misplaced plot, little space for actors

[dsdsds16 · 6/10 · 20 January 2018]

This film failed miserably. It couldn't capture the viewer's attention at all. I won't say I'm disappointed, as I have already watched a more hyped Norwegian piece ("The King's Choice") and didn't like it either. But "Birkebeinerne" is certainly a misadventure.

Unlike European films in general, it is very formulaic and predictable, expect for a couple of moments. The background real story itself isn't attracting. The Norwegian civil war was pretty much limited to skirmishes, so any film on this topic betting on "axes and blood" would fail, because there isn't really much raw material.

So, one'd think the director concentrated his efforts on the palace intrigue, the dynastic feuds. On the contrary. The plot's greatest potentiality was miserably neglected, as the director dedicated 90% of the running time to the baby's journey and the 10-20 men "battles". The major villains only starred briefly, and their dialogues were always flat and cheesy.

Princess Christina, the chancellor, the imprisoned brother Inge, the "Norwegian Colonel Tavington", Egil and his sister -all these characters were nothing more than woodsticks designed to fill big plot holes the director didn't care to assess. Even the two loyal fellows who were on screen the whole time weren't convincing enough.

It was particularly sad when they presented the young king at the viking-styled party; those bucholic men were persuaded to take part in a highly dangerous task just like they'd be persuaded to go to a summer camp. They weren't offered any incentive or reward or anything. I expected a powerful speech, at least.

The final part was severely unrealistic. Mr. Tavington could've killed little Haakon as soon he approached him, but he chose to calmly check it. And then he was grabbed into a fight by our good hero, who seems to be rather invencible (hit by an arrow in the shoulder just some minutes before, Skjervald managed to resist the better equipped Bagler).

In general, this film has some cool effects, but that's pretty much all its merit.

Too weak to be good

[deloudelouvain · 5/10 · 2 February 2017]

I watched the English dubbed version of Birkebeinerne. I wished it would have been in Norvegian though because dubbed versions most of the time are just no good enough. You lose the feel of reality. And with this one it wasn't good either. The voices just sounded fake to the story. It made the actors look like amateurs. I'm sure they're not but they're also not the greatest actors ever. Even not with their original voices. The story is to weak to be entertaining. In fact the only thing that I thought was good were the skiing shots and the beautiful snowy scenery's. But the story was just not great, even if it was based on a true story. It looked all made by amateurs. The singing and praying didn't do any good either to the story. I really doubt that in that time there were a lot of Catholics in those regions. More heathens so the praying scenes made it look unreal. So to me the only good thing about this movie was the skiing. At least there was a lot of it in Birkebeinerne.

Norwegian Rugby

[robertguttman · 8/10 · 30 March 2018]

This movie, which is based upon a dramatic true story, takes place in Norway about 150 years after the end of the Viking era. Norway has become Christian by this time although, apparently, not too Christian. That is to say, they haven't become too Christian to go around committing murder, or even regicide.

To those not familiar with medieval Norwegian history the politics in this movie may be a bit murky. It would definitely help to read up on it beforehand. Nevertheless, the gist of the story is simple enough. The orphaned infant son of the newly-murdered King is in danger of being murdered by his late father's political rivals. An army of armored knights are out to kill the tiny heir to the throne. Two guys are entrusted with the task of saving the baby King from his pursuers.

The situation looks pretty hopeless for the two heroes and their tiny charge. However, they do have one thing going for them. It is the dead of winter and, while the two heroes do not have access to horses, they do have skis. As anybody who has ever watched the Winter Olympics knows, nobody in the world can catch Norwegians on cross-country skis. Nevertheless, the director does a great job of maintaining the suspense as they fight and ski their way through one hair-breath escape after another.

Most of this movie is like one long game of British Rugby Football, only played in the snow, on skis, and using a live baby as the ball. The object for one team is to score a goal. For the other team, the object of the game is simply to kill the ball. As for the rules, well, there are no rules. Come to think of it, that sounds like a great idea for a new Winter Olympic sport, one that ought to be a real crowd-pleaser. They could call it, "Norwegian Rugby".

The acting is excellent and the production values are world-class. Although the movie is in Norwegian with English subtitles, the dialogue is not difficult to follow. Besides, one really does not require subtitles to understand, "AAAAAARGH!"

entertaining adventure movie

[myriamlenys · 7/10 · 16 December 2018]

A movie set in a dark period of Norse history, about a small band of warriors who try to protect the infant son and heir of a murdered monarch. This is the kind of subject which, of course, has roots reaching all the way back in both history and myth. (People looking for a satirical take on the subject can do worse than watch "The Court Jester" with Danny Kaye.) This is also the kind of subject which calls for an epic sweep and here the movie certainly delivers. There is much to admire with regard to cinematography, locations, sets, costumes, and so on. The numerous pursuits and stunts set in vast, snowy forests are particulary well done.

The acting is pretty decent, too. Even the baby playing the royal infant is both charming and convincing. Having said all this : it is a pity that there is so little in the way of psychological insight or moral complexity. With regard to depth and nuance, we're pretty much in "Lion King" territory : the good are (very) good, the bad are (very) bad, and that's it.

Still, the movie contains at least one valuable life lesson. If you, dear reader, want to murder a king, make sure that there is no one around within a ten-feet radius to overhear you while you discuss your plans with a fellow conspirator...

It was tedious and offered no sign that it was going to get better

[Paynebyname · 4/10 · 13 February 2017]

I watched this film last night, well actually I gave it 40 minutes and then switched it off. I don't like doing that to films but it was just so tedious and unengaging.

I know it's a Norwegian film and hence thought it might be a little harder to grasp but the endless talk of Birkenbeiers and Baglans and Hakons, especially when relayed in subtitles, is just too much to get your head around.

That would have been fine if the action had pulled it through but it just had so little involvement. One of the heroes has his wife and child killed and as a viewer you didn't feel anything. No berserker rage from the hero, no sweeping music, no feeling that someone was 'going to pay'.

The guy then ski's like a banshee to warn his friends and they immediately start some kangaroo court where they are considering beheading him even though he's warning them of impending doom.

The bad guys turn up, all 12-16 of them, and some lame LARP-ing style fight ensues. By this point, I was bored by the action, turned off by the stupidity of the good guys (if they were) and uninterested in what was going on.

Bad direction, bad scripting

[stordal-77210 · 1/10 · 23 April 2021]

How to ruin a good story.

This is a typical Norwegian home made movie where they do short cuts and take non sense decisions all over the movie. Then at the end they rimmed out of money and tries to wrap it all up in a minute.

The historical story it self is fantastic, but this movie is so, so terrible.