Good but unremarkable portrait of Amin fails to stand out from pretty much any other portrait of the dictator

Rating: 6/10 (3 September 2007)

Idealist young man becomes a doctor and instead of following in his dads footsteps goes to Uganda to do some good. His arrival coincides with the coup that placed Idi Amin in power. At first enthralled by the new President he slowly begins to realize that all is not well as he journeys from country doctor to physician to the man himself.
Well made and well acted story is a bit unremarkable dramatically especially if you've seen any of the exploitation films on Amin or even Barbet Schroeder's Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait.
Forrest Whitaker is excellent as Amin. I'm not sure his performance is really Oscar worthy since the only real difference between his performance and some of the other people who've played Amin-say Joseph Olita in Amin: The Rise and Fall, is that he has a better script to work with. Since its such a show offy role that its easy to take an excellent and rightfully praised performance, and make it seem like its "the best" of the year when its one of the best. Its a good but not great film. Add it to the long list of films that are Oscar winners for reasons that will escape you two years hence.