Not very inspired, really.

Rating: 6/10 (20 October 2007)

I was slightly disappointed with this film. I am usually not a stickler for the need for a sympathetic character, but in this film Nicholas Garrigan is seriously flawed by the lack of sympathy I felt for him. He seemed like he was created specifically to be a sympathetic character, and that is why the failure to be one is a problem for me.
The whole movie seemed to sketchy without flushing out details and character motivation. I would sum up the film with Garrigan's comment about having sex with Amin's wife. "Oh, what the heck." Everything in the storyline seemed to just be there without really flushing out motivations. Too much story was attempted without enough feeling for the characters.
There was definitely a good performance by Forrest Whitaker, but after seeing it, I didn't think it was Oscar worthy. Ghost Dog was a much much better performance. To me, portraying the megalomania of Idi Amin seems less of a challenge than some other potential roles. One that Whitaker does well, but it just doesn't move me as a great performance.
I wish I could say better things about this movie, but it just really didn't strike me as anything special. Just okay.