The Last Duel

[DarkKnight88]

Because he's an entitled crotchety old man who probably doesn't even give a damn about most of the films he makes any more. Good for him for still working consistently at his age but he's put out just as many "meh" movies as he has good ones so it's not like he has a flawless track record to back up his complaining. Oh, Blade Runner 2049 was too long for you, Ridley? So was Exodus: Gods and Kings. Noah Hawley's Alien series won't be as good as the original? At least it can be much better than Alien: Covenant.

I understand if you’re not into what he does now, but there’s no way in hell he’s not as passionate with making his films now. Listen to any interview, he cares deeply. That’s why he’s so damn cocky about it. And you know what? Let him be lol He’s kind of earned the right and I actually dig his crazy as a director. I don’t have to have lunch with him.

 

[Drizzle]

Between how Alien Covenant turned out and this, I think Scott's lost touch with both reality and what made his past movies work. People whined endlessness about the newer Star Wars movies over really dumb crap (namely certain headcanons not panning out), and yet Alien Covenant straight up made the series' title into a complete lie by making the titular monsters the result of some crazy robot's science experiment. Which is a legit issue because it means the Xenomorphs aren't aliens anymore and yet the series is freaking called "ALIEN"! And yet hardly anyone complained. The hypocrisy of the Internet is astounding to me at times.

As for this movie, it calls back to another problem Scott's had for the past 20 years: he's been trying to get a taste of that "Best Picture Oscar gold" he had with Gladiator. Except he's at least realized he can't do that by throwing Russel "Fightin' Round The World" Crowe (sorry, I had to make that South Park joke) into every damn movie he makes. The ONLY reason he came close with The Martian was because 1. He had Drew Goddard, a damn good screenwriter and director, working on it and 2. It's based on an already acclaimed book by Andy Wier, so Ridley barely had to do anything except get behind a camera.

My bottom line is that Scott really needs to stop trying to make deliberate Oscar-bait and just focus of making good movies, as well as let someone else handle the Alien series. If he's just gonna keep wrecking the mythology like this, then he shouldn't be involved anymore.

I've never seen Traffic, so I can't in fairness say that Ridley Scott was robbed of a Best Director Oscar over Steven Soderbergh. But I will say that two decades later, how much of an impact did Traffic leave compared to Gladiator?

I understand if you’re not into what he does now, but there’s no way in hell he’s not as passionate with making his films now. Listen to any interview, he cares deeply. That’s why he’s so damn cocky about it. And you know what? Let him be lol He’s kind of earned the right and I actually dig his crazy.

I didn't say he doesn't give a damn about all of the films he makes. I thought The Martian was his best film since Gladiator so he's still got it. I hate to keep bringing up Alien: Covenant as a punching bag but whatever potential that movie has is quickly squandered when it turns into a lazy retread of the original.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Scott works best when he has less money to 'squander'. Give him a 'limited' budget and he's good to go, give him more scope with the money and he loses himself and his skillset. He's best with smaller stories, smaller budgets and less 'froth' of self indulgence.

 

[DarkKnight88]

I didn't say he doesn't give a damn about all of the films he makes. I thought The Martian was his best film since Gladiator so he's still got it. I hate to keep bringing up Alien: Covenant as a punching bag but whatever potential that movie has is quickly squandered when it turns into a lazy retread of the original.

I think that’s him playing ball with the studio at the end so he can make his true passion The Adventures of David the Android. And when he’s telling THAT story, he’s on fire lol.

And by all means, The Last Duel is supposed to be a great film - which I haven’t seen yet being a millennial and all - but I’m excited for it as I think, like The Martian, he can still nail it. And what other director in their 80s can still nail it on this size?

 

[Drizzle]

Scott works best when he has less money to 'squander'. Give him a 'limited' budget and he's good to go, give him more scope with the money and he loses himself and his skillset. He's best with smaller stories, smaller budgets and less 'froth' of self indulgence.

Does All The Money in the World count as one of those "limited budget smaller films" too? I haven't seen the whole thing but I liked what I saw. Of course, all the budget on that one went towards replacing Kevin Spacey. In hindsight, he shouldn't have even been playing the role in the first place since he was nowhere near as old as John Paul Getty was. Enough of this old age makeup nonsense. *stares at Jared Leto in House of Gucci*

I think that’s him playing ball with the studio at the end so he can make his true passion The Adventures of David the Android. And when he’s telling THAT story, he’s on fire lol.

And by all means, The Last Duel is supposed to be a great film - which I haven’t seen yet being a millennial and all - but I’m excited for it as I think, like The Martian, he can still nail it. And what other director in their 80s can still nail it on this size?

I've heard good things about The Last Duel as well. My reluctance to see it has nothing to do with Scott and more the fact that I'm tired of Affleck and Damon, especially Affleck. I do like Adam Driver and Jodie Comer quite a lot though.

 

[DarkKnight88]

Enough of this old age makeup nonsense. *stares at Jared Leto in House of Gucci*

hee hee , he does love that doesn’t he. See also Guy Pearce in Prometheus lol. I forget but did we see old Gerard DePardieu Columbus at the end of 1492?

 

[Drizzle]

hee hee , he does love that doesn’t he. See also Guy Pearce in Prometheus lol. I forget but did we see old Gerard DePardieu Columbus at the end of 1492?

Never saw 1492 but at least the Guy Pearce thing made more sense because there were promo vids and deleted scenes of Weyland as a younger man and we see him again in Covenant. Casting Leto instead of Paul Giamatti for House of Gucci is just a waste of makeup budget.

 

[Snow Queen]

People just don't like being lied to. He called this movie "The Last Duel" when clearly there are duels after this one.

 

[DarkKnight88]

People just don't like being lied to. He called this movie "The Last Duel" when clearly there are duels after this one.

 

[CaptainWagner]

Never saw 1492 but at least the Guy Pearce thing made more sense because there were promo vids and deleted scenes of Weyland as a younger man and we see him again in Covenant. Casting Leto instead of Paul Giamatti for House of Gucci is just a waste of makeup budget.

Paul Giametti has been starved of good roles for years now. At this point, it's straight up cruel to give Leto the part over him. Poor guy.

 

[MOVIELORD101]

Paul Giametti has been starved of good roles for years now. At this point, it's straight up cruel to give Leto the part over him. Poor guy.

Uh, are Straight Outta Compton and Saving Mr. Banks chopped liver? Hell, in the latter movie he's actually playing a really likable character in it!

 

[CaptainWagner]

Uh, are Straight Outta Compton and Saving Mr. Banks chopped liver? Hell, in the latter movie he's actually playing a really likable character in it!

Those were 8 and 6 years ago, though. He's pretty much just had 'Billions' for the last half a decade.

 

[Drizzle]

He was in Jungle Cruise in a completely wasted throwaway role.

 

[zeptron]

The oldest millennials are nearing 40. Why do people keep thinking that millennials are forever 20-somethings?

It seems most people don't know what millennials actually are and just toss the term out to describe all "young people".

 

[DarkKnight88]

That's something a millennial would say.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Gen X-ers, Boomers, and Silent Generationers think of everyone young as Millennials like Millennials and Generation Z-ers think of everyone old as Boomers.

 

[DJ Kornphlake]

One would think Ridley should be used to making a critically well-received yet poor box office performing movie by now.

 

[Mysteryman]

Ridley Scott also said in a recent interview that he has directed 3 Superhero films.
1.Alien
2.Blade Runner.
3.Gladiator.

 

[OutOfBoose]

I wish the movie was more in style of Barry Lyndon than Braveheart/Gladiator. Authentic and historically accurate (as much as possible) legal drama.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Mediocre, yet good production value.
Affleck looked ridiculous and out of place.
Once more a King of France was portrayed as a ******ed buffoon.

 

[Marvolo]

Mediocre, yet good production value.
Affleck looked ridiculous and out of place.
Once more a King of France was portrayed as a ******ed buffoon.

Wasn't Charles VI a psychotic?

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Wasn't Charles VI a psychotic?

He was but he wasn't a buffoon either as he looks in the movie.

 

[Marvolo]

He was but he wasn't mentally ******ed either as he looks in the movie.

Its just a movie.

Ridley takes great liberties with his historical fiction. Rome in Gladiator is a hodgepodge of various eras, and Commodus is turned into an incestuous fratricidal maniac. Kingdom of Heaven is little more than fiction using the slimmest historical framework.

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

Its just a movie.

Ridley takes great liberties with his historical fiction. Rome in Gladiator is a hodgepodge of various eras, and Commodus is turned into an incestuous fratricidal maniac. Kingdom of Heaven is little more than fiction using the slimmest historical framework.

Yeah, it's no big deal true, the movie will be not one for the records anyway.
At least in Gladiator, Commodus looked and acted the part (scary), then again he was played by a good actor and not unknown baby face.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Romance might not be dead but this movie certainly dragged it down a dark alley and gave it a good shoeing. the performances are all good with Affleck giving his most unexpected turn for years and Jodie Comer bringing an air of dignity to Marguerite. The Rashomon structure is an interesting storytelling mechanic for a tale of this type which isn't usually something we see within this genre, but this isn't nearly as engrossing as Kurosawa's classic.

It's a solid movie and I guess the ambiguity regarding the truth is the point, but it's a bit of a slog to get through, and whether she was telling the truth entirely Jacques raped her no matter how delusionally he tried to convince himself otherwise, and I had to check myself on the period when they said the rape of a woman was actually a crime against her husband's honour rather than her. lot of stuff in this showed a mentality towards women that was repulsive in those times and disgustingly remnants of it still exist today. Both guys were complete *******s to the point I was hoping they'd both die in the duel after Kylo slashed bemulletted Bourne's femoral artery before getting skewered in the mush. In fairness the titular duel was brilliantly staged and shot by Ridley, but the film is just so hard to invest in, it's colder than swimming in the arctic with a polar bear while wearing samon skin speedos.