Menacing and unpredictable

Rating: 9/10 (3 September 2007)

Wow! What a presence Forest Whitaker has on screen! Luckily the movie isn't in 3D as the viewer already has the impression that at any moment he will reach out and grab him/her by the throat!FW is indeed Amin: huge, menacing, bipolar to say the least and with the awesome potential of keeping his entourage in a heightened state of constant anguish.Amin apparently possessed the hypnotic powers that characterize many past and present dictators. The fact that he was in a constant state of doubt as to his own godlike status and that he questioned the loyalty of everyone around him made his reactions even less predictable. Nobody really knew how to address him and even the most submissive and personally humiliating approach could evoke totally irrational outbursts on his part. Forest Whitaker portrays Amin as he really was and does this outstandingly. James McAvoy does what is expected of him but neither the weak character he portrays nor his charisma as an actor impressed me much.