The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die 4K 2023 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

After the death of King Edward, Uthred of Bebbanburg and his companions set out on a journey across the divided kingdom in the hope of finally uniting England.

Review 4K Movie

When British filmmakers want to tackle the epic, they get lost in the labyrinth of consciousness. There is plenty of choice on the islands: the plots of the Norman sagas have long been nationalized by non-Scandinavians, Celtic motifs are easily transformed into fantasy worlds, and proto-Shakespearean plots have erased the difference between the local and immigrant populations. In addition, there are purely British stories such as King Arthur, the great unifier Alfred, and the first kings of the Heptarchy, a proto-UK as it has already settled in the minds of modern viewers.

The 10th century is referred to much less frequently. If the Vikings up to the time of the Danelaw are seen as aesthetic, the Celts as mystical, and the Knights of the Round Table as romantic, then the time of civil strife is an era of vicious heroes. And they can be understood, as historians have a minimum of sources from this period, no literature at all, and very few surviving architectural monuments. But still, a place for meaning has been found.

Strictly speaking, The Last Kingdom is an extremely successful series in the UK. And Alexandra Dreymon is as well known there as Sasha Petrov. Four seasons over seven years in prime time on British TV, and the series has grown into a feature film on Netflix. Because of this, there are all the logical problems: a cramped, galloping script, weak character motivations, and a difficult introduction to the subject for an outside viewer. The main thing is that, overall, you can grit your teeth and get through it all.

Seven Kings Must Die is an artificial epic about a united England. It's about the very invention of a word that would later mean more than a country and a territory. This is important for the English, and it's important for everyone else when they are looking for a foothold for themselves.

Despite the absolute dullness of the film and the sets, it fulfills the task of a patriotic quest without chauvinism and other rubbish. Let there never have been a Lord Northumbria Uthred in the real world. Just as there were no Danes (the future Danes) who devoured the hearts of their enemies in wolf masks. Or a devout gay king who was infatuated with his favorite mentor. This is all room for artistic license. There are no sources, which means they have the right. Not to falsify history, but to correct it, to creatively reinterpret it.

The Last Kingdom sells a simple story of unity across different religions, ethnicities, and social structures. Was this the case in reality? Most likely not. The world of the European Middle Ages was more cruel and less humane.

But pop culture is stronger than science, simulacra are stronger than reality. At least until people take their heads out of their iPhones. And when they do, they'll stick them back in a minute later. Why, why, tell 'em that it's human nature