Genre: Historical/Adventure/Drama
Director: Craig Gillespie
Writer: Andrew Doster
Based on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper and the 1936 and 1992 films
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Jodie Comer, Jude Law, Richard Madden, Angourie Rice, Adam Beach, Forrest Goodluck, Zahn McClarnon, Dylan Sprayberry, Lara Pulver, Matthew Macfadyen, Tanaya Beatty, Guillaume Canet
Plot: The film starts in a forest, an Indian Mohawk named Magua (Zahn McClarnon) is leading a troop of British soldiers with his beloved daughter Aiyana (Tanaya Beatty). The soldiers treat Magua badly and don't seem to listen very carefully to his directions. Suddenly the Indian looks around and realizes that something is wrong and tries to warn the leader of the soldiers who, however, does not listen to him. Magua warns her daughter to be careful. Shortly thereafter, the group is unexpectedly attacked by a group of French soldiers. Almost all the British soldiers are killed, only a couple manage to escape on horseback while Magua in the confusion had fallen to the ground banging his head on a stone and fainting. After a while Magua awakens to see only corpses and finds her lifeless daughter. He hugs her in tears with a face full of hate. At that point he sees an English soldier still alive who is crawling to the ground due to his injuries. Magua approaches and kills him.
It is 1757, the French-Indian war rages in the English colonies and the British have been fighting the French for some years for the territory in North America. Some Indian tribes are sided with the British while others are allied with the French and settlers are caught in the middle. Three men,the Mohican Chingachgook (Adam Beach), his son Uncas (Forrest Goodluck) and adopted white son Hawkeye (Robert Pattinson), visit the Cameron frontier home, John (Matthew Macfadyen), Alexandra (Lara Pulver), who they are the dominant family of that settlement. The group seems close-knit and they seem to have known each other for a long time. The evening is pleasant and peaceful in front of Alexandra's dinner. Young settler Jack (Dylan Sprayberry), son of John e Alexandra tells Hawkeye that he is rallying volunteers to fight for the British army in hopes that their border homes will be protected from attacks by the Hurons, the Indian group that is loyal to the French. The next morning some settlers leave for New York to obtain these terms of agreement with a general. The general agrees to grant them permission in the event of an attack on their homes. Satisfied, Winthrop and the others agree to serve in the militia and join the British forces at Fort William Henry in Albany, some sixty miles away.
Meanwhile, Cora Munroe (Jodie Comer) and younger sister Alice (Angourie Rice) travel along a road near the forest accompanied by a British garrison to meet their father, the prominent Colonel Edmund Munroe (Jude Law), who commands the defenses of Fort William Henry. The garrison is commanded by Major Duncan Howard (Richard Madden), who is engaged to Cora. Their route to Fort William Henry is led by an indigenous guide named Magua. Magua behaves coldly towards the soldiers and often speaks to them expressing dissent towards the English in his mother tongue, although Major Howard does not realize that something is wrong. The group stops for a break. The soldiers and horses refresh and cool off as Howard sits on a log pulling a ring out of his pocket. When he sees that his girlfriend Cora is approaching he is quick and put it in his uniform pocket. The girl is worried about her sister because she has recently recovered from pneumonia and is still weak. Howard heartens Cora and tells her that the journey is uneventful and they will soon arrive in Albany. Shortly thereafter, the group set off again. At a certain point Magua looks around starting to whistle and make signs. He then heads to the rear of the formation and the garrison is ambushed by a Huron war group. The two girls fall off their runaway horses and help each other crawl through the undergrowth as they watch helplessly as the soldiers are slaughtered. At that moment, Chingachgook, Uncas, and Hawkeye arrive and fight the remaining Hurons. Magua attacks Cora by saying something incomprehensible but Hawkeye manages to save her and rushes towards Magua, who is forced to flee with some other surviving Hurons. Meanwhile a Huron is about to kill Alice but Uncas saves the girl just in time. When everything calms down, only Cora, Alice and Howard survived, albeit wounded. Hawkeye takes supplies from the dead and assures the three survivors that he and his companions will escort them to Fort William Henry. The two girls are about to get on the horses but Uncas sends them away explaining that they are too noisy and easy to track down. The group gets back on the road even if the two girls are not happy to have to walk all that way.
During the journey, Duncan questions Hawkeye and why he and his gang were traveling west instead of fighting in the militia. Hawkeye explains that he is not an explorer or a soldier, which implies that he does not take orders. During the trip Alice is about to touch a plant with a beautiful yellow flower but Uncas arrives just in time making her understand that it is a poisonous flower. They soon all arrive at the small Cameron-led settlement where they discover that the inhabitants have all been horribly murdered and the huts burned. Hawkeye and Uncas notice that nothing has been stolen and conclude that a Huron war group was responsible and that they are most likely scouring the frontier in search of unfortunate settlers. Meanwhile Alice hears faint moans coming from one of the burnt huts where she notices a hand moving and screams. The others rush there and are horrified to see how that person is reduced. Hawkeye recognizes her as Alexandra Cameron. The woman was in inhumane conditions, she had been skinned and tortured but she was miraculously still alive and in a whisper she was asking for help. Cora seeks help from others to try to save her by yelling Duncan at her. Hawkeye then approaches Alexandra and kills her, ending her suffering. Cora cries as Howard hugs her to soothe her as she punches him in the chest.
At that point Hawkeye signals everyone to leave leaving Cora astonished and takes him by the arm inviting him to bury the dead. He says no and leaves saying they need to find a safe place to camp. Later that night, as they camp out, Hawkeye sees Cora sitting next to her sleeping sister and sitting next to her. The girl is visibly unnerved by Hawkeye's behavior that afternoon. He says that if they buried the Camerons, anyone looking for their tracks would see it as a sign of their passage. At that point he tells his story of him, of how he was found by Chingachgook at a young age after his family was killed and how he was raised as a Mohican. He then he starts looking at the sky and tells her a folk tale about the creation of the stars, assuming there is a monument to Cameron and his family. At one point Chingachgook begins to fidget and call others back because someone is approaching. A group of Huron hunters is approaching. They begin preparing their defenses until the Hurons turn back when they see that Hawkeye has camped out in a graveyard. When they escape Hawkeye says that the Hurons are very religious and attacking someone near a cemetery is a sign of bad luck. The next day they are followed from afar by enemies throughout the day as they approach the fort. When they finally arrive, they find it bombed by French cannon fires.
The group enters the fort and the girls are reunited with their father. He is amazed to see them there and he claims he never sent to tell them to come, Magua had tricked them into joining his father. Munroe is still grateful to the daughters' saviors and offers them gunpowder, food, and beds to rest on. The two girls are also made to sit in a comfortable room after a long time spent in the streets and in the forest. Alice and Uncas start joking together and Cora realizes that something more than a simple friendship is being born between the two and goes to her room smiling. But the girl stops to listen to what they are saying in the command post. Munroe explains the current situation: the French dig trenches every day that when close enough will allow them to bomb the fort decisively. They have three days at the most. Hawkeye breaks the news that many innocent settlers are being attacked but Munroe reacts with disinterest. Munroe interrogates Duncan, who, intimidated by Edmund Munroe, refuses to acknowledge what he saw at the Cameron settlement. At the sound of those words, Cora goes full of anger into her room. Meanwhile, Jack Cameron learns of his parents' death from Chingachgook. At that point he and other soldiers are angry at Munroe's indifference to the settlers and demand that they return home to take care of their families, but Munroe threatens them and orders that if anyone deserted they would be sentenced to death immediately. Hawkeye tries to calm the situation but speculates that if the settlers did not receive help from the British they could have joined the French. Munroe angered by Hawkeye's words accuses him of treason but Hawkeye assures him it's the truth. At that point Munroe dismisses everyone.
Meanwhile Magua returns to the French camp just outside the fort and turns to General Montcalm (GUILLAUME CANET), giving him the latest updates. When asked why he was targeting Munroe's daughters, Magua explains the man's deepest hatred and says that the sooner he kills the women, he will show Munroe their heads before ripping out his heart. It is also revealed that Munroe was responsible for an attack on the village of Magua which resulted in the deaths of many members of the village, including his wife and two his children and then enslaved to work for the British as a guide where he also lost his only daughter Aiyana.
Later Cora meets Hawkeye again and realizes that she is falling in love with him. Duncan goes to her assuring her that everything that has happened will be forgotten once they return to England. At that point he hands her her ring asking her to marry him. She is thrilled by this but although she is initially going to accept her she eventually rejects her marriage proposal because she after learning of her lies about the Huron war factions attacking the colonists she decided to leave him. Duncan tries to clear himself without success. She states that he is a man with admirable qualities but that he never had the courage to stand up to her father. Then she apologizes and runs off to her room with her voice broken by tears consoled by her sister Alice. She later meets Hawkeye and the two share a passionate kiss.
During the night Jack Cameron and some other soldiers pray to Hawkeye to help him escape the fort. The next morning Munroe notices some soldiers missing and interrogates Hawkeye who immediately says he helped them escape. The man is arrested for sedition, tied up and sentenced to hang. Cora asks him why he hasn't left too and he replies that his only interest remains in the fort: her. At that point she goes hard to confront her father. She proudly states her belief that the British are probably doing more harm than good to the colonists. During the conversation the fort is attacked earlier than expected and is soon overrun by the French. At that point Munroe is forced by Montcalm to surrender. After a conversation between them they come to the conclusion that they can leave the fort with their families on the condition that they return to England. Munroe very reluctantly agrees.
The British soldiers leave with Munroe and Duncan in command. At one point Duncan notices Cora's missing and goes back. Shortly thereafter, the troops again fall into an ambush set by a large number of Hurons led by Magua. Meanwhile Hawkeye is freed by Chingachgook, who along with Uncas and the two girls had stayed behind to free him. In the distance they hear the din of a battle between the few remaining English soldiers and the Hurons. Magua fights Munroe and personally rips his heart out, telling him his daughters are next. Cora ventures into the vegetation in search of her father and finds him dead. Hawkeye and Chingachgook intervenes at the last moment saving her from a group of Hurons and orders Uncas to hide with Alice in the waterfall a few miles away and that they would join them shortly. Uncas and Alice reach the waterfall. The girl is frightened and Uncas manages to calm her down. After a while, not seeing the others arrive, she begins to worry and wants to go find them. Uncas blocks her and hugs her, whispering to her that she'll be okay. Shortly thereafter, the others arrive in the company of a couple of surviving British soldiers.. Hawkeye and the others realize they have very little ammo and weapons and have no chance to defend themselves if they are found. With the Hurons approaching, Hawkeye promises Cora that he will return to find her, as long as she stays strong with her. Uncas's feelings for Alice are still evident as he, Chingachgook, and Hawkeye jump into the waterfall. Duncan and the two women are then captured by Magua and his men.
The prisoners are taken to a Huron village where Magua discusses with the Sachem, the elderly tribal chief, what he intends to do with them. At a certain point Hawkeye unarmed enters the village with his hands up. He is shot down by the Huron warriors as he approaches falling to the ground on his knees. Hawkeye maintains a peaceful attitude and asks to speak to the Sachem while Magua asks to be executed immediately. Sachem agrees to listen to Hawkeye, who asks Duncan to translate the words he will say into French. Hawkeye begins asking Sachem to reconsider what Magua told him and tries to convince him that Magua is merely acting out of selfishness and not for the good of the tribe. After carefully listening to Hawkeye the Sachem makes his decision. Cora must be burned alive, Duncan must be sent back to the British to appease their future anger, and Alice must be married off to Magua so that both of their bloodlines can continue. As for Hawkeye, he will have to be released for the courage shown during the various battles. Hawkeye begs for Duncan to translate that he will take Cora's place. However with an act of courage Duncan intentionally misleads so that he, not Hawkeye, is caught to be burned alive. At that point Hawkeye realizes Duncan's sacrifice, who desperately asks Hawkeye to save Cora until he is taken away near the fire that begins to burn. Magua resentfully leaves with Alice as Hawkeye takes Cora to the forest where they reunite with Chingachgook and Uncas who have witnessed the scene from afar. There, Hawkeye takes aim and mercifully shoots Uncas Hawkeye covers the eyes of a desperate Cora as Duncan is hoisted at the stake and starts screaming in pain. Then he decides to shoot him to save him further pain while he is burned alive.
A moment later they realize that Uncas is missing. The camera moves from Uncas who is running in the forest in pursuit of the Magua group, determined to save Alice at all costs. He sees that the Magua group is climbing a mountain to get to their settlement. He joins them and manages to kill several members of the group before facing Magua in a duel to the death. Alice yells at him not to and to go away but Uncas smiles softly at her telling her not to worry. The two begin to fight but Magua demonstrates greater skill and experience than the young Uncas. However at a certain point Magua slips giving Uncas the opportunity to kill him but fails to exploit it. The seasoned Huron is only brushed in the face as Uncas is stabbed alongside him. Alice screams and tries in every way to free herself from the grip of the Huron that she is holding her back to reach him but she cannot. Uncas sadly looks at Alice for one last time before Magua slits his throat and pushes his body over the cliff. Chingachgook and Hawkeye see the scene as they are running up the mountain. Angered Chingachgook attacks forward pushing Hawkeye away. Meanwhile, at the scene of the fight, Alice has escaped the Huron's grasp by approaching the edge of the precipice and she watches Uncas's body fall hundreds of meters down. Magua nods to Alice asking her to move from there and join him. Alice makes another pass and commits suicide by jumping off the precipice to be reunited with her beloved Uncas. All this happens while Cora is also witnessing the scene, albeit in the distance. As Chingachgook runs forward to face Magua, Hawkeye covers his back by shooting any Huron in his way with perfect accuracy. Chingachgook reaches Magua facing him in combat. The two begin to fight hard until Chingachgook manages to hit Magua in the back. Magua albeit wounded continues to fight fiercely while Chingachgook fights full of anger to avenge his son. The Mohican manages to hit Magua two more times, who at one point stops waiting for the final blow from Chingachgook, which comes immediately after. Magua falls to the ground dead. At that point after prayers for Uncas, Chingachgook tells Hawkeye that that land is no longer meant for him and that it will be inhabited by those like Hawkeye, Cora (who by then had joined the others) and their children. He then says a prayer to the spirits and asks his family to be patient in death and wait for him, the Last of the Mohicans.
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