The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die (2023)

I enjoyed The Last Kingdom. As a series it wasn't perfect but it was reasonably watchable. Then along came the movie. I'll separate this into good and bad. Lets start with whats bad. Unsurprisingly, more woke revisionist history. Yes, female empowerment was a big thing in Saxon times, apparently. I had no idea. I thought women were relegated to mostly domestic roles and had little say. Questionable scripting. The script feels rushed and jumps into the story which almost feels like the second part of a tale, that needs more of a discovery back story. For those who have not watched the series, it is probably going to be, justifiably, really confusing. The idiot decisions made by the lead character Uhtred, make little sense, either. Having regained his kingdom, Uhtred decides to back a royal family who, in the series, hung him out to dry.And worse still, they don't even ask nicely (but hey, female empowerment, right?). So off he blithely goes with his friends, risking everything for ungrateful, untrustworthy people, based on a promise, of sorts. Then it turns out the new King is an utter tyrant, influenced by his corrupt, gay boyfriend. As a note, homosexuality was not unheard of in Royal circles but to be this blatant, in this period of strict religiosity, at this level, would risk being dethroned, so it really doesn't ring true. Yet, Uhtred backs the King anyway. A real nobleman would and histrionically did, put distance between them and this kind of Royal behaviour. Suffice to say, the whole premise, stands on "shaky legs". Is there an upside? Yes, great acting in spite of a contrived story and decent Norsemen meets Saxon, swordplay action. Certainly, fight scenes were always this franchises strong point and that does not change. In summary, let down by a weak tea, revisionist story that fails to adequately explain the primary characters inexplicable motivations (not that they really make much sense). Upside is limited. Decent acting and action scenes but really its more a consolation prize, than anything else. Watch the series instead, in this reviewers opinion, its vastly superior.