Review of The Last Emperor (1987) by Elliott F — 20 Jul 2010

First off, the cinematography in this movie is utterly brilliant. It's easily some of the greatest, most lush, and downright gorgeous camera work I've ever seen in a film. As a history buff, the attention to details is great to see as well.

As an actual film, it works significantly less well. The acting is rather flat (although John Lone, Peter O'Toole, Joan Chen, and Maggie Han give very solid performances) and it is clear that 75% of the cast does not speak English as a first language.

The screenplay's fine, honestly, and the placement of the events is quite fascinating. While I believe it is a very good movie (and very enjoyable if you are the right kind of person), beyond the cinematography, The Last Emperor offers only a small amount of real meaty substance in terms of plot and character.