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- BBC America
- Oct 10, 2015
- BBC America
- Oct 10, 2015
Summary After his noble Saxon parents were killed by the invading Vikings, a young Uhtred (Tom Taylor) was taken in and raised by the Vikings. As a grown man (Alexander Dreymon) finds himself in Wessex, where King Alfred the Great has thus far kept the Vikings from conquering his lands in this adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's series, The Saxon S...
- BBC America
- Oct 10, 2015
- BBC America
- Oct 10, 2015
Summary After his noble Saxon parents were killed by the invading Vikings, a young Uhtred (Tom Taylor) was taken in and raised by the Vikings. As a grown man (Alexander Dreymon) finds himself in Wessex, where King Alfred the Great has thus far kept the Vikings from conquering his lands in this adaptation of Bernard Cornwell's series, The Saxon S...
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5 Seasons
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
78
100% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
78
100% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
It all meshes together in enthralling fashion with a tale that’s understandable and a setting that’s tailor made for picturesque vistas. Last Kingdom livens up Saturday nights with Emmy caliber storytelling and oft-sumptuous production values.
The truthful background of this high-stakes history makes it thrilling on a deeper level. Along with the battle scenes and other entertainments, the series reflects many challenges of today’s world.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 211 User Ratings
8.3
85% Positive
179 Ratings
179 Ratings
9% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
6% Negative
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 211 User Ratings
8.3
85% Positive
179 Ratings
179 Ratings
9% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
6% Negative
12 Ratings
12 Ratings
Omg. I absolutely love this. I don't think I would but glad when I am wrong.
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SEASON 1
Last Kingdom is imaginative and amusing, and Uhtred makes for a smart, tough, randy central character.
After an hour or two, the series has taken on a life of its own, offering a reminder that there’s always room, at least on a niche basis, for another good one.
Writer Stephen Butchard has done a superb job distilling the nuance and complexity of Cornwell’s story, which avoids simplistic good guys vs. bad guys plotting.
The series has a sprawling cast and high production values, yet it starts off rather generically--bearded men playing with swords, battling over territory.... Hang around until Episode 3, though, and substantive themes begin to take shape that give this series a distinctive personality.
As "Thrones"-aping series go, The Last Kingdom is a better bet than plenty of others. It's easier to follow than "Bastard Executioner" and less battle-crazy than "Vikings," occupying a gentler middle ground.
Having binge watched 9 out of 10 episodes on Netflix it then took a few days to watch the last episode knowing that once watched there would be no more for another year. I simply love this show. The characters are so engaging and mesmerising to watch. Never have I hated a man so much in Aethelwold that I yearned for his death through most of season 3, a credit to the actor that plays him. Uhtred is fantastic yet again and in this season he has to battle with so many different trials and emotions, I just wanted to reach into the TV and give him a big hug! I will definitely be watching this over and over again until the next season arrives.
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SEASON 1
Let's be fair, this is good and has a couple of enjoyable and nice moments but it's far from being great. I enjoyed some of the acting and props they've had as well as the characters. But there's a lot of shaky cams and compared to other TV shows that are out now it doesn't shine as bright as others may claim it to. It is a bit above mediocre. Watchable and a bit entertaining with a couple of nice moments.
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SEASON 1
Well the first 20 minutes of the first episode are absolutely terrible. The story just doesn't make sense and the characters are one sided caricatures. The Vikings: simplistic savages. The Christians: desperate fanatics defending their faith. There is a father-son story in which the father gives him a task but the son is an idiot and doesn't do it right. We have no idea why and obviously everything goes wrong as a result. Once this totally un-engaging story the storyline shifts to the King's other son who is kidnapped by the vikings. It becomes more interesting, but still utterly un-engaging.
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SEASON 1
It does have some good scenes and funny moments, but all in all, from the costume design (WHY THE HELL ARE UHTRED AND UBBA FIGHTING IN BASIC CLOTHES AND NOT ARMOR IN THE MIDDLE OF A BATTLE LIKE THE BOOKS) the way the battle scenes are twisted and just the extreme amount of content cut out there is much to be desired.
I'm a recent discoverer of Bernard Cornwell's books and have pretty much devoured the series from The Last Kingdom to The Pagan Lord and will be reading the remaining books soon and I recommend you do that too.
In the mean time leave this series alone and wait a good ten to twenty years and maybe someone who's actually read the books will try and produce it again and actually do it properly.
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SEASON 1
It took a lot of persuading for Cornwall to allow another series be adapted from one of his books after ITV took on SHARPE. He believes they never do them justice. After watching the first five episodes I can't help but feel he has once again been let down but this time by the BBC. He had probably hoped that they might hire a show runner like Michael Hirst - but they didn't. It's not even close to "VIKINGS" but to be honest Vikings is slowly crumbling.
Although Cornwalls' books aren't necessarily subtle or complex, they are a rollercoaster. They're fun. This isn't, mainly because it lacks the wit, and the empathy or antagonism he Creates for his colourful characters . The script is poor to say the least, there is a vast amount of exposition and constant interjections of "old language" which just sits so badly.
Props, costume and cinematography are as unsubtle and unrealistic as the dialogue - Although it has moments of beauty they are far and few between only serving to highlight how simple and unthought out the rest of it has been shot.
I'll forgive the fact that in the ten years that uhtred grows into a man, the Vikings have built a mud hut for a farm and haven't been attacked once by their enemies, what I won't forgive is the fact that I simply don't care for any character, mainly because I have no idea what anyone wants, nor have I gotten to know their flaws. This lack of empathy has simply resulted in a lack of interest in a cast of cardboard cut outs.
I gave this two stars, one for the attention paid to the shield wall formation and execution of the battle and the other for the kid who acts as young uhtred.
With the exception of PEAKY BLINDERS, Why can't British TV get their epic shows right. Even for a viking period drama it still ends up looking and feeling like DOWNTON bloody ABBEY!
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SEASON 1