Highly entertaining but historically shaky

Rating: 8/10 (26 February 2007)

Wouldn't it be interesting if movies ostensibly based on true people and events added a caveat like "but otherwise, this movie is 100% fiction." That was the thought that crossed my mind when I saw the caption at the start of the movie, telling viewers "this story is inspired by true people and events".
Otherwise, The Last King of Scotland is a thoroughly entertaining thriller but of negligible value in giving insight into what Uganda was really like under Idi Amin's reign. In fact, Amin is actually a supporting character in this movie, but Forest Whitaker's incredible performance pushes him front and center, in the same way that Anthony Hopkins made The Silence of the Lambs about Hannibal Lecter despite having only some 30 minutes of screen time.
In actuality, the movie could well be subtitled The Nicholas Garrangan Show as the movie is actually about the young Scotish doctor (energetically played by James McAvoy) who goes to Uganda in search of adventure and ends up as Amin's personal physician and one of his closest advisers.
Director Kevin McDonald really knows how to ratchet up the tension and if he wanted to, he could easily join Paul Greengrass in bringing grit and edge to mainstream thrillers. He also keeps the film briskly paced, which keeps audience interest up despite the two-hour length.
But in line with the focus on Dr. Garrigan, the horrors of Amin's reign are kept in the background, until its time for the good doctor to realize what kind of a fix he's gotten himself into, whereupon the photos of those violently killed by Amin's men are brought out.
The filmmakers also have no insight into what makes Amin tick, other than Garrrigan's calling him a child at a crucial point in the movie. In other words, the only insight the movie can come up with is that Amin is a walking Ego, given absolute power and then turned loose on Uganda.
So watch The Last King of Scotland as an entertaining thrill ride, but do try to read up on Amin if the subject interests you.