Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

sexy_pisces_gal Rufus Sewell stars as Charles II in this lavish adaptation chronicling the life and loves of the "Merry Monarch", from his last few months in exile from Oliver Cromwells Republican England, to his death. Supported by Rupert Graves as the treacherous Duke of Buckingham, History comes alive in this four-hour drama.When he reclaims his throne after 11 years in exile, Charles II is determined to avenge his fathers murderers even if it means risking the wrath of his people, who are already furious at their Kings reluctance to banish the heretical Catholics from England. Things are not helped when the Kings brother, James, Duke of York converts to the catholic faith himself, causing uprisings and civil war, and as the King's marriage to the Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza is childless, James is the only heir, forcing the King to a very difficult decision. Should he abandon the Duke of York in favour of his protestant, and illegitimate son, James Duke of Monmouth? Or dissolve parliament and keep the Duke of York as his heir?

George Parker "The Last King" is a 3 hour, two part miniseries from the BBC which traces the life of King Charles II who ruled from 1649 until his death in 1685. The upside of this film includes its sumptuous appointments and excellent cast. Well directed and crafted, the film is engaging, passionate, and delivers a strong sense of Charles II, his Monarchy, and the period. On the downside, however, the film is very difficult to follow given the absence of any prologue or didactics, the mixing of sir names and titles, and the presumption of some knowledge of the history of the time. The film squanders time on the sexual intrigues and personal relationships of the womanizing King while largely ignoring the more historical and profound matters of state. The Dutch Wars, for example, are barley mentioned while much time is spent on the machinations of one of his mistresses, Barbara Villiers making the film a bit more of a soap opera than a historical chronicle. Nonetheless, this elegant film is a must see for anyone interested in King Charles II and a should see for those into stories of the history of England's monarchy. No one does English period films better than the Brits and this one has production value equal to any similar films from Hollywood. (Note - the DVD I watched has no CC's or Subtitles with much dialogue spoken in whispers or thick English, French, of Portuguese accents). B

connema The film made its United States debut tonight on Arts and Entertainment Network with many commercials so I don't know if there were scenes cut from the BBC edition. The look of the film was beautiful and Rufus Sewell was the perfect Charles II. As an American, I found it very interesting about the Catholic vrs Protestant situation. As a student of English history, I found it gave a fair balance on both sides. I believe the Catholic band on those of the faith could not hold office until the 19th Century. Rupert Graves who I usually see in modern films looked a little out of place with all those wigs but I am just use to seeing him either on stage or in modern films.How can anyone forget those eyes of Mr. Sewell. This is his trade mark. I had put it on tape and so I could fast forward the commercals. Thank God for that. There must have been 30 commercals during the four hour telecast.

mark-542 The BBC's 'Charles II: The Power, The Passion' is absolutely drenched in clichés of every sort. Here's a period that is really interesting in English history: we get the licentiousness, the decadence of the merry monarch's court, but what we don't get is a sense of the great religious and political debates that were happening at the time.The question is what is the point of this? It looks cheap. The acting is fine. Rufus Sewell plays Charles with equal doses of high camp and grotesque excess; Ian McDiarmid, Rupert Graves and others fare adequately. Unfortunately, the BBC used to do this a lot better. Standards, it seems, have slipped and I don't know what they're playing at.