The boy who walks with the Vikings

quincytheodore

For a medieval adventure, The Last Kingdom moves at a strikingly fast pace with unhinged ferocity and undiplomatic cultural clash. Audience might be familiar with The Vikings and it does have similar characters. Both series sets in the same timeline and world, but this one is told from the perspective of an England boy. This is a fresh rendition of epic saga that creates solid characters in highly perilous time, relying less on stylish ambiance and more on gritty dusty violence.

Uhtred, son of Uhtred, is a boy meant to inherit an earldom. Then a series of unfortunate events carries him from luxurious to eventual warrior life. All of which happen in far greater pace than most television series. It introduces characters and sends them off to whatever fate tomorrow may hold for them, it has no place and time for wallowing.

Admittedly, this grants a much cinematic presentation, it also keeps the plot and characters very well refined. Script presents just the right amount of bantering for the personalities to be identifiable, establishing the relationship without wasting a moment. As its peers have done, it also brings skirmishes and brutality. Action is straightforward mayhem, grounded in presentably realistic warfare of the time. There's no shortage of carnage or blood here.

However, it might encounter a few issues later on. The transition could feel too brief, audience barely has enough time to invest before it shifts the plot pretty significantly. While it doesn't gloss over details, some subplots could've been more thorough. There are plenty of characters passing by even in span of one episode, that it simply has no time to cover them all and this rapid pace might not match runtime of a series.

The Last Kingdom is an intriguing epic tale. Granted, comparison could be made with Game of Thrones or The Vikings, be it a blessing or a curse, but it's strong enough to stand on its own and definitely a worthy foray to another medieval realm.

score 7/10

quincytheodore 12 October 2015

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3334361/