Sean Connery and Michael Caine make a great couple in one of Huston's best movies

Rating: Null/10 (24 June 2011)

"The Man Who Would Be King" is a great adventure film from director John Huston. An adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's short story, the film stars Sean Connery as Daniel Dravot and Michael Caine as Peachy Carnehan, two ex-soldiers that seeking fortune and glory decide to embark on a journey to the remote province of Kafiristan in order to become the rulers of the land.
In order for their plan to work, the two need to blackmail a local governor so that he would provide them with money to buy rifles. Their scheme nearly falls apart, but they are given an unexpected help from Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer), a writer for the Northern Star whom Peachy had earlier met in the train. Along their way to Kafiristan the two encounter many perils and are nearly forced to give up when the difficulty of the terrain renders them unable to continue. Through either pure luck or divine intervention, they manage to make it to Kafiristan where they pose as Englishmen, "the next best thing" after gods.
The film is beautifully shot and John Huston manages to create the right atmosphere and give the viewer the impression that the action really takes place in a land forgotten by time, with its own rules and values. The movie has the right amount of drama and action and the chemistry between Sean Connery and Michael Caine is nearly perfect. The two are at their very best here and one can tell that they had a great time filming this. The supporting cast is also good: Christopher Plummer gives a decent performance as Rudyard Kipling while the rest of the supporting actors are equally good in their roles.
This definitely ranks among John Huston's greatest work, but I would not consider it to be his best movie ("The Maltese Falcon" would probably deserve this honor). "The Man Who Would Be King" is nonetheless a highly entertaining tale of friendship and loyalty that manages to stand the test of time.
My rating: 8/10