An evil dictactor ruined my holiday

Rating: 6/10 (20 January 2007)

Africa throws up a great deal of modern dictators, but Amin was something else by any standards. In this film we get a great actorly cameo of him, though surprisingly little about Uganda. But we do get to know about a fictitious Scotsman.
On retrospect, a film about Idi Amin was never going to be very good if after 15 minutes our Scotsman anti-hero, the observer device for the film, was still wasting time with another non character whose entire part could have been removed.
In the excellent Downfall, we get to see a troubled Hitler - but the writer gets right with the man himself and the people round him. No time is wasted on those not relevant to helping the audience understand.
I know Forest Whittaker is a great actor, and this role was clearly one he relished. Its a pity that the director felt that the other characters had to be one dimensional for the film to work. Is that how they thought Amin came to power? For a film about Idi Amin, it could have done with a bit more about Idi Amin. In the end our Scotsman anti-hero soaks up so much time that one feels sorry he's has a holiday ruined by some silly black dictator. Should have gone to Club 18-30.